BCH -v- London Borough of Newham (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2025-LON-001157

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

16 April 2025

Before:

Judge Plimmer

Between:

The King on the application of
BCH

-v-

London Borough of Newham

Order

On an application by the Claimant for anonymity and interim relief

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant

ORDER BY JUDGE PLIMMER (sitting as a Judge of the High Court)

  1. Anonymity:
    (a) Pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) and/or the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and/or 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 BCH.
    (b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant 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 a redacted copy of any statement of case 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;
    (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 Order must make an application, served on each party.
  2. Interim relief:
    (a) The papers are to be referred to a judge to determine the application for interim relief in the form of interim care, by 25 April 2025.
    (b) No later than 23 April 2025 the Defendant shall provide to the Court and the Claimant’s solicitors:
    (i) contact details for the Claimant’s Independent Mental Capacity Advocate;
    (ii) details of the relevant care needs and capacity assessments the Defendant has undertaken of the Claimant;
    (iii) a response to the application that it put into place interim care pursuant to section 19(3) of the Care Act 2014 to support the Claimant to take her medication and attend her medical appointments, namely in the form of semi-supported accommodation and any other services which are identified as necessary to meet the Claimant’s needs within 21 days of the Court’s order.

Reasons

Anonymity:
(1) The Claimant is an asylum seeker but the Secretary of State for the Home Department has indicated that she is to be recognised as a refugee. In addition, the Claimant has significant health issues. She is HIV positive and has schizophrenia. As a soon to be recognised refugee the naming of the Claimant may increase her risk and the risk of family members. The claim also relies on detailed personal medical information relevant to mental capacity, care needs and health conditions, in relation to which the Claimant has a reasonable expectation of privacy. There are accordingly compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1.

Interim relief:
(2) The Claimant’s solicitors have provided a detailed account of the Claimant’s deteriorating health conditions and their serious concerns for her, in a lengthy witness statement dated 1 April 2025. The Claimant’s mental and physical health appears to be significantly deteriorating. This must be viewed in the context of medical evidence dated 14 February 2025 that if the Claimant were to remain off her HIV treatment (she stopped taking medication in December 2024) she would become seriously unwell with a “high risk of death”.

(3) It is appropriate to provide the Defendant with notice of the Claimant’s application for the interim relief set out at paragraph 2(b)(iii) above. It is noted that the draft order requests support for the Claimant’s care needs within 21 days of any Order. The timetable set out above permits this proposed timetable to be adhered to, should interim relief be granted. Whilst the timetable is tight, given the Easter bank holiday, the Defendant was given notice of the application on 8 April.

(4) In the particular circumstances of this case it is appropriate for the Defendant to provide the information referred to at paragraph 2(b)(i) and (ii) as soon as possible