COH -v- London Borough of Lambeth (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case number: AC-2025-LON-002442

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

In the matter of an application for judicial review

20 November 2025

Before:

Marcus Pilgerstorfer KC,
Deputy High Court Judge

Between:

The King
on the application of
COH

-v-

London Borough of Lambeth

Order

On an application by the Claimant for an anonymity order.

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant

ORDER BY MARCUS PILGERSTORFER KC, DEPUTY HIGH COURT JUDGE

    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, and that of her children, 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 COH, and her children as A, B, C and D.

    (b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant or her children or of any matter likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or her children 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 or her children;

    (ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or her children, 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.

    (e) Pursuant to the ‘Practice Guidance: Publication of Privacy and Anonymity Orders’ issued by the Master of the Rolls dated 16 April 2019 a copy of this Order shall be published on the Judicial Website of the High Court of Justice (www.judiciary.uk). For that purpose, a court officer will send a copy of the order by email to the Judicial Office at judicialwebupdates@judiciary.uk.

    REASONS

    (1) Anonymity: It is appropriate to grant anonymity to the Claimant and her children. The issues in this claim relate to medical conditions and disabilities, particularly those of one of the Claimant’s children, and the implications of them. The Claimant and her children have a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to those details. Anonymising the names of just the Claimant’s children, or any of them will not provide sufficient protection. Privacy rights must be balanced against the very strong public interest in open justice. In this case, I am satisfied that, balancing the relevant factors, there are compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the open justice principle provided for in this Order.

    Signed: Marcus Pilgerstorfer KC, DHCJ

    Date: 20 November 2025