AG -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department and another (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2024-LON-003995

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

16 January 2025

Before:

Timothy Corner KC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge

Between:

The King on the application of
AG

-v-

Secretary of State for the Home Department

and

Director of Public Prosecutions


Order

On an application by the First Defendant for an extension of time to submit her Acknowledgement of Service and Summary Grounds of Defence

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant and the Defendants

ORDER by Timothy Corner KC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge

  1. The First Defendant has until 23 January 2025 to file Acknowledgement of Service and Summary Grounds of Defence.
  2. The papers shall be put before a judge as soon as possible after 23 January 2025, to decide whether to grant permission to apply for judicial review.
  3. Pursuant to CPR r.39.2, the identity of the Claimant shall not be directly or indirectly disclosed, and these proceedings shall be known as “R (AG) v the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Director of Public Prosecutions”.
  4. Pursuant to CPR Rule 5.4C a person who is not a party to these proceedings may only obtain a copy of a statement of case, judgment, order or other document from the court records if the document has been anonymised such that: (a) the Claimant is referred to as AG and (b) the address of the Claimant has been deleted.
  5. Insofar as any statement of case, judgment, order or other document to which anyone might have access pursuant to CPR Rule 5.4A-D has not been anonymised in accordance with paragraph 4 above, the Claimant has permission to file with the court an anonymised copy of that document, which is to be treated for all purposes as being in substitution for the relevant original, with the original being retained by the court in a sealed envelope marked “not to be opened without the permission of a Judge or Master of the King’s Bench Division.”
  6. Any interested party, whether or not a party to these proceedings, may apply to the court for an order setting aside, varying or discharging paragraphs 2 – 4 of this Order, provided that any such application is made on 7 working days’ notice to the Claimant.

Reasons

  1. I am granting the extension sought by the First Defendant because the period for service of the First Defendant’s response fell partly within the Christmas period, because prejudice to the Claimant is limited as he has now been released from custody, and because it is in the interests of justice for the details of the First Defendant’s position to be understood.
  2. There is no need to consider the Second Defendant’s application for an extension, as the Second Defendant has now filed Acknowledgment of Service and Summary Grounds of Defence.