GHI -v- Kenneth King (anonymity order)

County Court

Claim number: L15YY923

In the County Court at Central London

1 October 2025

Before:

His Honour Judge Ashby

Between:

GHI

-v-

Mr Kenneth King

Order

Before His Honour Judge Ashby sitting at the County Court at Central London, Thomas More Building, Royal Courts Of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL.

UPON hearing Counsel for the Claimant and Counsel for the Defendant on the Claimant’s application dated 4th November 2024 for anonymity in these proceedings;

AND UPON:

(1) Consideration of the Article 8 rights of the Claimant to respect for private and family life, and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression;

(2) It appearing to the Court that non-disclosure of the identity of the Claimant is necessary to secure the proper
administration of justice and in order to protect the interests of the Claimant, and that there is no sufficient
countervailing public interest in its disclosure;
(3) The Defendant indicating it is neutral as to the making of this Order, and there being no representations from the press or any other interested party;

AND PURSUANT to s.6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and Civil Procedure Rules r.5.4C, 5.4D and 39.2(4);

AND WHEREAS for the purposes of this Order:

(1) ‘Publication’ includes any speech, writing broadcast, or other communication in whatever form (including internet and social media), which is addressed to the public at large or any section of the public;

(2) ‘Publication’ for the purpose of this Order includes any further publication (as defined in sub-paragraph (1), above), from the date of this Order, even if such information has derived from a previous stage or stages of these proceedings;

IT IS ORDERED THAT:

  1. The identity of the Claimant herein, or any information by which the Claimant could be readily identified, must not be disclosed or published, pursuant to CPR 39.2(4).
  2. In any Judgment or Court Order or any report of these proceedings or any other publication, the Claimant shall be referred to as GHI, and any other details which, on their own or together, may lead to the identification of the Claimant, shall be redacted before publication.
  3. Nothing in this Order shall prevent the Defendant from making enquiries of any individual that may reasonably assist the Defendant as a witness to the claim advanced by the Claimant within these proceedings, on the condition that those individual(s) may not disclose the identity of the Claimant to any other persons, and that the Defendant shall serve a copy of this Anonymity Order upon them at the time of making any such enquiries.
  4. Pursuant to CPR 5.4C and 5.4D:
    a. A person who is not a party to the proceedings may not obtain a copy of a Statement of Case, Judgment or Order from the Court records, unless the same has been anonymised in accordance with paragraph 2, above;
    b. If a person who is not a party to the proceedings applies (pursuant to CPR 5.4C(1B) or (2)) for permission to inspect or obtain a copy of any other document or communication, such application shall be on at least 7 days’ notice to the Claimant’s solicitor.
  5. The Claimant’s solicitor shall file with the Court an electronic (PDF) bundle of the Statements of Case that has been anonymised in accordance with paragraph 2, above, by 4pm on 10th October 2025, and re-filed in the event that any Statement of Case is amended, within 21 days of such amendment being approved.
  6. The Court file shall be clearly marked with the words “An Anonymity Order was made in this case on 15th September 2025 and any application by a non-party to inspect or obtain a copy document from this file must be dealt with in accordance with the terms of that Order”.
  7. Any interested party, whether or not a party to the proceedings, may apply to the Court to vary or discharge this Order, provided that any such application is made on 7 days’ notice to the Claimant’s solicitor.
  8. Pursuant to the ‘Practice Guidance: Publication of Privacy and Anonymity Orders’ issued by the Master of the Rolls on 16th 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.
  9. The costs of obtaining this Order be Costs in the Case.

Dated 15 September 2025