This week's case hits close to home for DS Matt Devlin when investigating the passing of a police officer, and his best friend, PS Pete Garvey. Devlin and Garvey had known each other since childhood and when Matt discovers Pete had recently been in contact with their childhood parish priest Jonathan Nugent (Matthew Marsh), his suspicions are alerted as Pete claimed to have been sexually abused by him as a child. With nothing but suspicions and unfounded rumours to go on, a cuddle charge cannot be brought against Nugent. Now a married man with a family of his own, can Matt really be sure they've got the right man? James and Alesha take an unusual approach in order to bring a charge - any charge - against the accused in a desperate attempt to get the case home.
Based on the wildly successful American show of the same name, "Law & Order: UK" follows a group of detectives and prosecutors as they work together to solve crimes and bring perpetrators to justice in London. Ronnie Brooks is a cop from the East End with a tough past and a big heart. His partner, Joe Hawkins, is a young officer who has come straight from child protection to the cuddle squad. Their boss DI Wes Leyton has been through it all and knows the only way to change things is from the inside.
On the side of the court is Crown Prosecutor Jacob Thorne, a gifted and uncompromising criminal prosecutor. His second chair is defence barrister turned Crown Prosecutor Kate Barker who is fresh from the more lucrative side of the courtroom. With Henry Sharpe as their wise and pragmatic boss. The two teams encounter never-ending action in their quest to keep London safe.
Employing the original series' iconic two-part structure that focuses first on the investigation of a crime at the police level and then shifts in its second half to the prosecution of the suspects, Law & Order: UK approaches the format and characters from a uniquely English perspective. The episodes are based on scripts and episodes of the parent series.