CBY -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2025-LON-002865

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

3 September 2025

Before:

The Honourable Mr Justice Sheldon

Between:

The King on the application of
CBY

-v-

Secretary of State for the Home Department

Order

On an application by the Claimant for urgent interim relief

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant

ORDER by the Honourable Mr Justice Sheldon

  1. In these proceedings, the Claimant shall be referred to as “CBY”, and his sister (who is an asylum seeker) shall be referred to as “CTN”, and his other sister (who lives in Southend with her family) shall be referred to as “CRT”.
  2. The Claimant’s name, and that of his sisters, is to be withheld from the public and must not to be disclosed in any proceedings in open court. There is to be substituted for all purposes in these proceedings in place of references to the Claimant and his sisters by name, and whether orally or in writing, references to the ciphers.
  3. Pursuant to s.11 Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant or his sisters of any matter likely to lead to their identification in any report of, or otherwise in connection with, these proceedings.
  4. Pursuant to CPR 5.4C(4):
    (a) The parties must, when filing any statement of case, also file a redacted copy of that statement of case omitting the name, address and any other information which could lead to the identification of the claimant.
    (b) Unless the Court grants permission under CPR 5.4(C)(6), no non-party may obtain an unredacted copy of any statement of case.
  5. Any person wishing to apply to vary or discharge paragraphs 1-4 of this Order must make an application to the Court, served on each party.
  6. The Defendant shall file and serve on the Claimant a response to the application for interim relief within seven days hereof. On receipt of the response, the application for interim relief shall be considered by a Judge (including a deputy Judge) as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter.
  7. The Defendant shall have liberty to apply on 48 hours’ notice to vary or discharge paragraph 6 of this Order.

Reasons

  1. The Claimant is a Syrian national. He, and one his sisters, are asylum seekers. The Claimant has issued judicial review proceedings and an application for urgent interim relief with respect to section 95 accommodation. The Claimant and his asylum-seeking sister are currently living with another sister in Southend. The Claimant contends that that accommodation is unsuitable given the disability of the asylum-seeking sister, and seeks an order for the provision of accommodation in Southend within 72 hours. The Defendant has agreed by letter dated 22 August 2025 to house them within a reasonable travelling distance from the other sister’s address in Southend. It would appear that no such housing has yet been offered or, if it has, it is not considered by the Claimant to be adequate as it is not in Southend itself.
  2. The details of the disability of the asylum-seeking sister is a matter which falls for protection under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This protection can be provided by an order for anonymity, and the use of ciphers. This does interfere with Article 10 and the principle of open justice, but my provisional view is that there is no particular reason why the identity of the Claimant and his sisters needs to be made public and so the derogation from open justice is justified here. If any party, including members of the press, wish to challenge the order for anonymity they will have liberty to apply.
  3. With respect to interim relief, the Defendant should be provided with an opportunity to make submissions before the matter is considered by the Court. It is clear that there is some urgency to the matter given the apparent needs of the asylum-seeking sister, but the matter is not so urgent that relief should be provided without hearing from the Defendant.