AUW -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department (anonymity order)
Administrative CourtCivilHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order
Case number: AC-2025-LON-000321
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court
In the matter of an application for judicial review
31 January 2025
Before:
the Hon. Mrs Justice Heather Williams DBE
Between:
The King
on the application of
AUW
-v-
Secretary of State for the Home Department
Order
On an application by the Claimant for urgent consideration and interim relief
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant
ORDER by the Hon. Mrs Justice Heather Williams DBE:
- Anonymity:
(a) Under the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and pursuant to s. 6 of the Human Rights
Act 1998:
(i) the Claimant’s name is to be withheld from the public and must not be
disclosed in any proceedings in public; and
(ii) the Claimant is to be referred to orally and in writing as “AUW”.
(b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no
publication of the identity of the Claimant or of any matter likely to lead to the
identification of the Claimant in any report of, or otherwise in connection with,
these proceedings.
(c) Pursuant to CPR 5.4C(4):
(i) the parties must within 7 days file and serve a redacted copy of any
statement of case already filed, omitting the name, address and any other
information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant;
(ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to
lead to the identification of the Claimant, a redacted copy omitting that
information must be filed at the same time and must then be served with
the unredacted version;
(iii) unless the Court grants permission under CPR 5.4C(6), no non-party many
obtain a copy of any unredacted statement of case.
(d) Any person wishing to vary or discharge this part of the Order must make an
application, served on each party. - Injunction:
(a) The Defendant must not transfer the Claimant from his current section 95
accommodation in Milton Keynes before 4pm on 7 February 2025 or further
order of this Court, if sooner.
(b) The Defendant may apply to vary or discharge paragraph 2(a) above, any such
application to be served on each party.
***THIS IS A PROHIBITORY INJUNCTION. IT MUST BE COMPLIED WITH UNLESS
AND UNTIL IT IS SET ASIDE BY A COURT, EVEN IF AN APPLICATION TO VARY
OR DISCHARGE IT HAS BEEN MADE UNDER PARAGRAPH 2(b) ABOVE. BREACH
MAY GIVE RISE TO PROCEEDINGS FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT. SEE
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT JUDICIAL REVIEW GUIDE 2024, §17.7.4 - Timetable for submissions and paper decision on interim relief:
(a) The Defendant may file and serve any response to the application for interim
relief by 4pm on 4 February 2025.
(b) The Claimant may file and serve a reply to that response by 4pm on 5 February
2025.
(c) The papers are to be referred to a judge or deputy judge for a decision whether
to grant interim relief immediately thereafter and in any event by 6 February
2025.
REASONS
Anonymity: I am satisfied that in light of the Claimant’s asylum seeker status and the
references to his children in these proceedings, that there are compelling reasons for the
limited derogations from the principle of open justice set out in paragraph 1. I note that
the Claimant has already been anonymised in existing judicial review proceedings before
this Court relating to his immigration detention.
Prohibitory injunction: The Claimant is due to be dispersed from his current asylum support
accommodation in Milton Keynes to asylum support in Mansfield on 3 February 2025. He
seeks an injunction preventing this removal until the permission stage in these proceedings.
He relies upon the impact on his children (who live with his ex-partner) and who he is
currently in physical proximity to and the alleged failure of the Defendant to take this factor
into account. The Defendant has not provided a substantive response to the Pre-action
Protocol letter of 28 January 2025 in the short time available. In the absence of any
substantive response from the Defendant and noting that the Claimant has in fact spent
much of the period since June 2023 in custody or, more recently, in immigration detention
(and thus apart from his children) I am not prepared to grant the relief sought. However, I
am prepared to grant an injunction for a short period of time in order to “hold the ring”
whilst the Defendant is given an opportunity to respond and the matter can be further
considered by a Judge of this Court.
Timetable for submissions and paper decision on interim relief: In the circumstances I am
prepared to grant an injunction for up to a 7 day period and I have set out a relatively tight
timetable for the parties to make submissions on the question of interim relief and the
matter then to be referred to a Judge for determination. For the avoidance of doubt, if the
Defendant does not to file a response and/or the Claimant does not file a reply by the
stipulated deadlines, the papers will in any event be referred to a Judge on 6 November
2025.
Signed: Mrs Justice Heather Williams
Dated: 31/01/25