LW -v- London Borough of Hackney (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtCivilHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case number: AC-2025-LON-000853

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

In the matter of an application for judicial review

28 March 2025

Before:

Sarah Crowther KC,
sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court

Between:

The King
on the application of
LW

-v-

London Borough of Hackney

Order

On an application by the Claimant for an order withholding her identity and imposing restrictions on reporting and to dispense with a Litigation Friend

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant and the written submissions dated 25 March 2025

ORDER BY SARAH CROWTHER KC SITTING AS A DEPUTY JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT

  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 LW and her child as TMW.

(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.

  1. The Claimant is permitted to conduct these proceedings on her own behalf without a litigation friend.

3. Costs in the case.

REASONS

(1) Anonymity: The Claimant is under 18 and her child is less than a year old. There is evidence that naming the Claimant and/or members of the family will increase the risk they would face in the local community as being identified as vulnerable children living alone and without parental or local authority support. Further, the claim includes personal medical information in which the Claimant and her child have a reasonable expectation of privacy. There are accordingly compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1.

(2) Dispensation of Litigation Friend: Under CPR 21.2(2) a child must have a litigation friend in proceedings unless the court orders otherwise pursuant to CPR 21.3. I am satisfied that where the Claimant is nearly 18 years old and both competent and capable of managing her own affairs including this litigation and where there is no suitable adult who could act as a litigation friend it is appropriate in all the circumstances to dispense with the need for a litigation friend.

Signed: Sarah Crowther KC
Date: 28 March 2025