I hadn't done a review at all - of course you can make up the rest. The first year is often mainly about finding your direction. Just keep going and don't worry too much.

Patent law and intellectual copyright could be interesting.

I used to be in molecular biology but I HATE lab work! I'm now doing a PhD in a different field after converting via an MPhil. That's always a possibility. I think you might find a PhD that depends on lab work a miserable experience. Other friends of mine did the following:

scientific officer civil service
administering research grants
scientific publishing (one went to Nature, another books and now has his own business)
pharmacuetical/medical writing (often advertised)
TV (after Nature, she went to BBC documentaries - very tough admission process)
converted to law
careers advisor (science specialism)

But my personal advice would be to do your PhD is something more agreeable - even if that means doing an MSc/MPhil first.

Only if your PhD topic is an extension of your MPhil research topic.

It really is like having a baby in so many ways. Some people 'feel the love' from that first moment. Others take time to bond. Some people get depressed and others find thier partner's are not really on board with the whole process. There may be sleepless nights and your social life might well take a downturn. Phases come and go. The project develops from an amorphous wailing blob into a willful, sometimes destructive, sometimes cute and cuddly toddler, then suddenly there is the language explosion at 2.5-3 yrs and you have a talking interacting being that you start to recognise as partly human.

I agree that this is very late in the day to criticise the scope of the central question! Sorry to hear you are having such a tough time. This really should have been sorted out in your first year.

Well as I'm sure you know you're in a very, very tough field wrt finding a funded PhD and yes, students often do know the potential supervisors in advance. Can you start 'buddying up' to a potential supervisor - maybe do some volunteer fieldwork etc?

Oh that is difficult. I would go over the comments with your supervisor and think carefully about a reply. I have experienced something similar recently (being purposefully vague...) and I am somewhat anxious to hear who my internal is going to be

But this is inevitable, especially in the humanities isn't it? I know there are people in my dept who differ from me on the theory - and an absolute ton of them in the faculty. Perhaps you should discuss this with your supervisor. If her views are so different, there's probably not much point in getting feedback from her at all.

Am I the only person on the planet who never did a first year report?

Sometimes you need a distintion to secure funding though. it depends on the course - personally I think it's more time-consuming to excel in a disertation or research project (if the MA has one) than in exams. In short, I think it would have cost me my PhD funding if I had tried to work through my MPhil. But if it is all taught with maybe one short disertation, well - you are the best judge.

As far as I'm aware, you must have TOEFL or IELTS for any reputable position.

It IS worth finding out why you are not ESRC approved. My dept is not ESRC approved because technically, my dept title is just not on the approved list. Which is a total pain as I have an otherwise typical ESRC type project. However, if your supervisors are able to get funding from other sources, then presumably they are still haing to meet funding level criteria - i.e. there are no easy sources of funding that just give it away to anyone!

Since you are continuing in the same field I would just carry on. You could apply for a masters place in case the funding doesn't work out (unless you don't need funding in which case don't bother). You don't actually need a 1st or even 2.1 to do a PhD - it has become necessary because of competition for funding.

I did a masters becasuse I was changing field after a long gap - I was 39. There was no way I could have got a PhD place at all, much less funding, without one.

One year courses are more intense than undergrad. It depends how badly you want another first (distinction). If it really matters (e.g. for funding), then it's probably not a good idea. You should also check your uni policy as often there are rules specifically prohibiting work while a full-time postgrad unless it's teaching in the dept.