HWB -v- Defence Secretary (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: AC-2026-LON-001115

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

10 March 2026

Before:

Mr Justice Choudhury

Between:

THE KING on the application of
HWB

-v-

Secretary of State for Defence

and

HKH

HDB

HYR

HYS

HAY

HYL

HYM

HHE
(Interested Parties)

    Order

    On an application by the Claimant for urgent consideration and directions

    Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant and the Defendant

    ORDER by the Hon. Mr Justice Choudhury:

    1. Anonymity:
      a) Under the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and pursuant to s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998:
      i) the Claimant’s name and the names of the Interested Parties are 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 “HWB” and the Interested Parties 1 to 8 as “HKH”, “HDB”, “HYR”, “HYS”, “HAY”, “HYL”, “HYM” and “HHE” respectively.
      b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identities of the Claimant and the Interested Parties or of any matter likely to lead to their identification 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 and serve a redacted copy of any statement of case already filed, omitting the name, address and any other information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or the Interested Parties;
      ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or the Interested Parties, a redacted copy omitting that information must be filed at the same time and must then be served with the unredacted version;
      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) must be filed and served by 4pm on 25 March 2026. In so doing, the Defendant shall include any submissions relating to the need for the CLOSED material procedure and shall submit draft directions for the same.
      b) Any Reply from the Claimant (CPR 54.8A) must be filed and served by 4pm on 27 March 2026
      c) The papers are to be referred to a judge for a decision on whether to grant permission to apply for judicial review within 7 days thereafter.

    REASONS

    Anonymity: The Claimant and the Interested Parties are currently in hiding. The underlying basis of the claim is that he is eligible for relocation under the ARAP scheme. The disclosure of his identity or that of any of the IPs would be highly likely to endanger their safety, cause risk to life, and undermine the Defendant’s ability to relocate them. There are accordingly compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1.

    Abridgement of time: Whilst the Claimant fairly acknowledges the difficulties in bringing a claim based on delay, the length of the delay in this case (10 months) and the effect on the Claimant’s health of living for an extended period in hiding, warrant a degree of expedition. Whether or not the matter is to be expedited more generally will be a matter for the Judge determining permission.