MER -v- Home Secretary (anonymity order)
Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order
Amended under the slip rule in CPR 40.12 on 24 July 2026
Claim number: AC-2026-LON-003416
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court
24 July 2026
Before:
The Hon. Mrs Justice Hill DBE
Between:
THE KING on the application of
MER (By his Litigation Friend the Official Solicitor)
-v-
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT
Order
Appointment of a Litigation Friend
1. The Official Solicitor shall be appointed as Litigation Friend for the Claimant in these proceedings under CPR 23.
Expedition and directions
2. This claim is suitable for urgent consideration. For that reason, the Court considered the N463 in the timescale sought by the Claimant.
3. The Defendant shall file and serve a response to the application for interim relief by 4.00 pm on Tuesday 28 July 2026.
4. The Claimant may file any reply by 12.00 pm on Wednesday 29 July 2026.
5. The Court shall list an urgent interim relief hearing on Thursday 30 or Friday 31 July 2026, with a time estimate of 2.5 hours.
6. If the hearing referred to in order 5 is no longer required, the parties should inform the Court as soon as possible.
Anonymity
7. The Claimant in this matter is entitled to anonymity until further order and there must be substituted for all purposes in this claim in place of references to the Claimant by name, and whether orally or in writing, reference to “MER” or such reference as the Court thinks fit.
8. A non-party may not inspect or obtain a copy of any document from the court file other than this order (duly anonymised) without the permission of the Court. Any application for such permission must be made on notice to the Claimant.
9. A non-party may not obtain any copy statement of case or other document from the Court file unless it has been edited (anonymised) in accordance with this direction.
10. Pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) and s.11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, the publication or disclosure of the identity of the Claimant or of any material tending to identify the Claimant shall be prohibited.
11. The Court’s CE-file system shall be clearly marked with the words “An anonymity order was made in this case on 23 July 2026 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.”
12. The Defendant or any non-party affected by this anonymity order may on 7 days’ notice to set it aside or vary it.
13. Pursuant to CPR 39.2(5) and the Practice Guidance: Publication of Privacy and Anonymity Orders 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).
14. For the purpose referred to in the preceding order, a court officer will send a copy of the order by email to the Judicial Office at judicialwebupdates@judiciary.uk.
Costs and other matters
15. The costs of obtaining this anonymity order shall be costs in the case.
16. Costs of the applications for urgent consideration and interim relief are reserved.
17. Liberty to the parties to apply to vary this order on 24 hours’ notice.
Reasons
1. The Claimant seeks judicial review of the Defendant’s decision to detain him for a total of 15 months, including for 8 months from 13 November 2025. He has extant protection claims which, if refused, he can appeal, which act as a legal barrier to his removal. He argues that his removal cannot therefore be said to be imminent.
2. The Claimant’s position has become pressing because since 8 May 2026 he has been an inpatient in Colne Ward psychiatric intensive care unit at Hillingdon Hospital. He has schizophrenia and lacks capacity. The Defendant continues to exercise her immigration powers to detain the Claimant while he is receiving treatment.
3. As at 21 July 2026, Colne Ward has advised the Claimant he is on their discharge list such that his transfer back into immigration detention is imminent. There is a concern that a return to immigration detention would cause the Claimant’s mental health to significantly deteriorate; and that no consideration has been given by the Defendant to arrangements for safe and supported release of the Claimant into the community.
4. The Claimant challenges the Defendant’s decision on four grounds, set out at Section E of the claim form.
5. It is appropriate to appoint the Official Solicitor to act as the Claimant’s Litigation Friend under CPR 21.6: the matters in CPR 21.4(3) are clearly satisfied because the Official Solicitor is clearly competent to conduct proceedings and has no adverse interest to the Claimant.
6. The Claimant has been afforded anonymity because he is a vulnerable immigration detainee with mental health issues; and because the case can be fully reported without him being named. There are accordingly compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice effected by granting him anonymity.
7. The Claimant seeks urgent interim relief in the form of directions for his release from immigration detention on bail and requiring the Defendant to take urgent steps to secure his safe release into the community in accordance with DSO/16 and/or otherwise.
8. The Claimant’s application for interim relief is therefore urgent but not so urgent that it should be determined without giving the Defendant the opportunity to respond to it, as the Claimant recognises. A tight timescale is nevertheless merited given that the Claimant’s health and potentially unlawful detention are at issue. I have given directions to achieve this. The timetable proposed by the Claimant was broadly appropriate but has been slightly modified by the Court.
9. I do not consider it appropriate (contrary to the draft order provided by the Claimant) to order interim relief, or to order the Defendant to pay his costs of this application, without hearing from the Defendant. Those matters are best addressed at the hearing referred to in order 5 above.
Dated: 23 July 2026
Re-dated: 24 July 2026
Paragraph 11 of the order and paragraph 5 of the reasons amended under the slip rule in CPR 40.12 on 24 July 2026