TS -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department (anonymity order)
Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order
Case number: AC-2024-LON-000875
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court
14 March 2024
Before:
The Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE
Between:
The King on the application of
TS
-v-
Secretary of State for the Home Department
(Port Ref: MST/7985857)
Order
On the Claimant’s application for an anonymity direction; urgent consideration; interim relief and directions;
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant;
Order by the Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE
1. Pursuant to CPR r.39.2, in any report of these proceedings, there shall be no publication of the name and address of the Claimant, nor any other particulars likely to lead to his identification. In the proceedings, the Claimant shall be anonymised and referred to as “TS”.
2. No later than 7 days from the date of service of this order, the Claimant’s solicitors shall file with the Court copies of case documents which have been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant, in accordance with paragraph 1 above.
3. Non-parties may not obtain any documents from the court file which have not been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant, in accordance with paragraph 1 above, save with the leave of the Court.
4. The Defendant shall file and serve an Acknowledgment of Service and Summary Grounds of Resistance, together with a response to the application for interim relief, no later than 14 days from the date of service of this order.
5. The Claimant may file and serve a Reply no later than 7 days from the date of service of the documents referred to in paragraph 4 of this order.
6. There shall be an oral hearing for interim relief on a date to be fixed as soon as possible after 8 April 2024. Time estimate: 2½ hours.
7. The Claimant shall file and serve a bundle of authorities, both electronically and in hard copy, no later than 5 days before the date of the hearing.
8. Liberty to apply to vary or discharge this order on 2 days notice to the other party.
9. Costs reserved.
Reasons
1. I have granted an anonymity order. The Claimant is an asylum seeker from Senegal who claims to be at risk. In the circumstances, a departure from the general principle of open justice is justified.
2. The Claimant entered the UK without leave on 5 November 2023. He has claimed asylum and claims that he has been a victim of torture and/or serious physical abuse. He has consented to a referral to the National Referral Mechanism but has not yet attended an appointment. He transferred to Wethersfield Accommodation Centre on or about 14 November 2023.
3. The Claimant claims that the accommodation is not suitable for him, by reason of his mental illness, including suicidal ideation. He is also suffering from some physical ailments. The Defendant has undertaken some investigations into the Claimant’s condition, and currently resists the Claimant’s case that the accommodation is unsuitable for him.
4. The Claimant has missed a number of medical appointments. I agree with the Defendant’s advice in the letter of 27 February 2024 that the Claimant should be encouraged to engage with the medical services at Wethersfield so that a clearer picture of his state of health can be obtained.
5. The Claimant has applied for an oral hearing for interim relief. However the proposed timetable is wholly unrealistic. The claim was filed and issued today, Thursday 14 March 2024, and so the Defendant cannot possibly file a meaningful response by Friday 15 March 2024. A token response, merely in order to comply with a court order, will not provide the judge with the information needed to make a fair determination. The Defendant should also be given a fair opportunity to set out his defence. It follows that the application will plainly not be ready for hearing on the first available date after Monday 18 March 2024.
6. Interim relief can only be granted where there is a serious question to be tried. That means that the Court has to assess the merits of the claim before it considers whether the balance of convenience lies in favour of the grant of interim relief. Therefore the judge at the interim relief hearing needs to see the Defendant’s Summary Grounds of Defence, responding to the Statement of Facts and Grounds. The Claimant may also wish to file a Reply.
7. In recognition of the urgency of the matter, I have abridged time for the filing of the Defendant’s Acknowledgment of Service, and directed that an oral hearing be listed once the Claimant has had an opportunity to file a Reply.
8. The application to link this claim to the other claims referred to by the Claimant will have to be considered by the permission Judge as this claim is at a different stage. Those claims are in a group of 9 which have already been granted permission; some have been selected as Lead Claimants; the remainder have been stayed.