XPG -v- National Crime Agency (anonymity order)

High CourtKing's Bench DivisionMedia and Communications ListAnonymity Order

Claim Number: QB-2022-000433

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Media & Communications List

8 July 2024

Before:

The Honourable Mrs Justice Collins Rice

Between:

XPG

-v-

National Crime Agency

Order

UPON the listing of the pre-trial review in this matter for 9th July 2024;

AND UPON the Claimant making an informal application for adjournment of the pretrial review and for anonymisation and other derogations from open justice, the Defendant making no objection to those applications;

AND UPON the Court being satisfied that it is strictly necessary, to secure the proper administration of justice and to protect the parties’ interests, for the Claimant to be anonymised for the purposes of these proceedings until such time as the Court has had an opportunity to consider the Claimant’s request for anonymisation and derogations from open justice on its merits and with the assistance of such submissions and evidence as the parties consider it relevant to place before the Court:

WITHOUT A HEARING

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

  1. The listing of the pre-trial review on 9 July 2024 is vacated.
  2. The parties are to apply to the listing office within 7 days of the date of this order to relist the pre-trial review in the window 14 – 18 October 2024, with a time estimate of 90 minutes.
  3. The Claimant’s requests for anonymisation and derogations from open justice are to be heard at the relisted pre-trial review.
  4. At least three clear working days before the pre-trial review, the parties may file and serve such submissions and evidence, concerning anonymisation and derogations from open justice, as they wish the Court to consider at the pre-trial review.
  5. Until such time as the Court has considered, at and for the purposes of the pretrial review, the Claimant’s requests for anonymisation and derogations from open justice:
    (a) there shall be substituted, in place of references to the Claimant by name whether orally or in writing, the letters ‘XPG’;
    (b) reporting restrictions apply to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the identification of the Claimant in connection with these proceedings; and
    (c) any non-party seeking access to or copies of statements of case, witness statements or applications in this matter must make an application to the Court on notice to the parties.
  6. There be liberty to the parties to apply to vary or set aside this order.
  7. Costs in the case.

Observations

The parties submitted a consent order giving effect to anonymisation and directions for derogations from open justice, on the basis of concerns raised in relation to the Claimant’s physical safety should he continue to be publicly associated with these proceedings.
Anonymisation and derogations from open justice are matters on which parties must expect to have to satisfy a Court as to their strict necessity, and that will usually be approached by way of formal submissions and evidence rather than seeking to proceed by way of inter-partes agreement.
This order makes provision for an opportunity for the parties to submit such materials to the Court as they consider to make a case for the strict necessity of derogations from open justice, and for those materials to be considered by the Court at a relisted PTR. To ‘hold the ring’ in the interim, the order makes provision protecting the Claimant’s identity until such time as the Court can consider the position on its merits with the assistance of such materials as the parties wish to provide.