We are pleased to announce that Hannah Hinton appointed to the Independent Safeguarding Panel for the Football Regulatory Authority. This is the second Independent Safeguarding Panel Hannah has been appointed to , the first being for UK Athletics.

Wayne Rooney and other footballers join together in this video to highlight the importance of this panel.

Hannah’s practice encompasses complex extradition work, inquests, public law, police law, professional discipline and financial crime. She also assists clients in cases concerning the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, the Education Act and the Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations. Click here to read more about Hannah’s practice.

In November 2016, Stephen Port was convicted of the assaults by penetration, rapes and murders of Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25, as well as the rapes of three men, ten counts of administering a substance with intent, and four sexual assaults.

The hearings of the inquests into the deaths of Mr Walgate, Mr Kovari, Mr Whitworth and Mr Taylor commenced today before HHJ Munro QC, sitting with a jury. These are among a small number of Judge-led inquests: https://www.judiciary.uk/related-offices-and-bodies/office-chief-coroner/judge-led-inquests/

James Berry is instructed by the Metropolitan Police Service, led by Peter Skelton QC along with Gideon Barth.

Edward Pleeth appeared in the Divisional Court in 2017 for HM Senior Coroner for East London in her successful application to quash the inquisitions in the inquests she had conducted into the deaths of Mr Kovari and Mr Whitworth before Port was arrested.

For media see: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london

We are delighted to announce that Emma Sutton has been appointed to sit as a fee-paid Employment Judge of the Employment Tribunals (England and Wales) with immediate effect. Emma will continue to accept instructions in the usual way and will undertake this new role on a part-time basis.

Emma has considerable experience in constitutional law and whilst studying for her Commercial Law Masters, worked as a legal advisor for the Welsh Government within the (then) Office of the Counsel General. Her role included drafting and amending statutory instruments, statute commencement orders and undertaking parliamentary bill research. In practice, Emma is recognised as a leading junior in public & administrative law, Court of Protection, education and inquest and inquiries work.

To read more about Emma’s practice, please see here.

On 23 September 2021, the Divisional Court handed down its landmark judgment dismissing the appeals of Robert Wozniak and Wojciech Chlabicz against orders for their extradition to Poland.

The issues addressed by the Court have been raised in practically every single Polish extradition request (and have been raised in challenge to requests from other judicial authorities) and a large number of appeals had been stayed pending the judgment in this matter.

The appeals raised issues about the impact on extradition from the UK to Poland of legislative developments in Poland since 2015 affecting its judiciary. The appellants challenged whether – by reason of these changes – the Polish judiciary continues to constitute a ‘judicial authority’ for the purpose of section 2 of the Extradition Act 2003 and/or whether return would constitute a breach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Alexander dos Santos of Serjeants’ Inn, led by Helen Malcolm QC of 3 Raymond Buildings acted for the successful Polish judicial authorities. The Court accepted the respondents’ arguments that there is no general basis to decline extradition to Poland and that an executing judicial authority must conduct a specific and precise assessment of the particular case. On the facts of these appeals, the Court also accepted that “…there is nothing in the material before us, nor any particular feature of the Appellants’ cases, which gives rise to a proper basis to refuse to execute their respective [European Arrest Warrants]” (§216 of the judgment).

We are pleased to announce that Hannah Hinton has been appointed as an Independent Safeguarding Panel Member for UK Athletics.

In late 2019, concern was raised to UK Athletics (UKA), UK Sport (UKS) and in the media about UKA’s existing safeguarding practices. On 19 December 2019, UKA and the Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAFs) publicly announced a programme of change in respect of its welfare and safeguarding provision, this included creating an Independent Safeguarding Panel.

Hannah’s practice encompasses complex extradition work, inquests, public law, police law, professional discipline and financial crime. She also assists clients in cases concerning the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, the Education Act and the Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations. Click here to read more about Hannah’s practice.

Please see here for the whole UKA Independent Safeguarding report August 2021.

The former Mayor Liverpool, Joe Anderson, and his son brought judicial review claims challenging their arrests and the searches of their premises in December 2020 as part of a major investigation by Merseyside Police into corruption in Liverpool City Council.

John de Bono QC and James Berry were instructed by Chief Constable of Merseyside Police to defend the claims.

The Claimants were both refused permission by Julian Knowles J.

On 29 July 2021 the cases came before Dove J for renewed permission hearings.

James Berry represented the Chief Constable. Both of the Claimants were represented by Queen’s Counsel. Dove J refused permission in both cases.

Click here to read the press coverage from the BBC.

Eloise Power appeared before Collins Rice J on behalf of the successful Respondent in Dad v General Dental Council [2021] EWHC 1376 (QB). Anthony Metzer QC and Heather Beckett appeared for the Appellant. The case set out some important principles governing the interpretation of regulatory documents.

The facts of the case concerned a dentist who had been erased from the Dentists’ Register after he had failed to declare a fraud investigation on an application form. The Appellant argued that there was no duty to declare the investigation in the first place and relied upon principles from the case law on statutory interpretation. The Court found that the difference between a statute and a regulatory application form was “one of kind, not degree”.

Crucially, the Court observed that there was “no absolute, abstract ‘ordinary and natural’ meaning of any piece of language taken in isolation. Context matters…” and “Relevance has to be considered on a case by case basis”.  In context, the Appellant was under a duty to declare the fraud investigation.

Please see the judgment here.

Congratulations to John de Bono QC (Clinical Negligence Silk of the Year), Neil Davy (Clinical Negligence Junior of the Year) and Elliot Gold (Professional Discipline Junior of the Year) for their individual nominations. We are also delighted to be shortlisted for Set of the Year in Professional Discipline and Regulatory Law and for Set of the Year in Clinical Negligence.

Many thanks to all our clients for taking the time to participate in the research and good luck to all the different chambers and counsel nominated!

Please see the full Chambers UK Bar Awards 2021 shortlist here.