HDY -v- London Borough of Hillingdon (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2026-LON-001010

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

16 March 2026

BEFORE:

CLARE PADLEY

BETWEEN:

The King on the application of
HDY

-v-

London Borough of Hillingdon

Order

On an application by the Claimant for anonymity and expedited interim relief

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant

ORDER BY CLARE PADLEY sitting as a 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 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 HDY.
    (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 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. Abridgement of time and expedition:
    (a) The Defendant’s Acknowledgement of Service (CPR 54.8) and response to the Interim Relief application must be filed and served by 4pm on Friday 20 March 2026.
    (b) Any Reply from the Claimant (CPR 54.8A), and further evidence relating to the application to dispense with a litigation friend under CPR 21.2(3), must be filed and served by 4pm on Tuesday 23 March 2026.
    (c) The papers are to be referred to a judge or deputy judge immediately thereafter.

Reasons

(1) Anonymity: The Claimant is a putative child and has an outstanding asylum application. There are accordingly compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1.
(2) Abridgement of time/expedition: The Claimant is an Eritrean national who entered the UK on 30 September 2025 and claimed asylum on arrival. He seeks permission to challenge the Defendant’s brief age assessment process and resulting decision on 5 December 2025 that he is an adult. He is also seeking expedited consideration of his application for an interim mandatory order requiring the Defendant to provide accommodation and support pursuant to s.20 of the Children Act 1989 pending determination of the claim.
(3) The claim was issued on 2 March 2026 and served on 5 March 2026, so the Defendant’s AOS is not yet due. In light of the nature of this claim and the fact that, on his claimed date of birth of 9 January 2009, the Claimant would still be a child, I consider it is appropriate to expedite the AoS so that the Court can then make an expedited decision on interim relief with the benefit of the Defendant’s response.
(4) Litigation Friend: The Claimant seeks an order dispensing with the requirement for a litigation friend, pursuant to CPR Part 21.2(3), but no reasons for this application are set out in the application. Despite the Claimant’s claimed age of 17, which may ordinarily warrant such an order, in light of the concerns raised in the claim about the Claimant’s level of understanding, the court is not prepared to dispense with a litigation friend at this stage and has directed further information in support to be provided.