Barrister specialising in administrative and public law; human rights and civil liberties; education and local government. Recent cases include: R (London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association and Criminal Law Solicitors Association) v Lord Chancellor [2014] EWHC 3020 (Admin) (successfully challenging the LC’s reforms to criminal legal aid); R (West, Beer, Webb and Thomas) v Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council [2014] EWHC 2134 (Admin) (challenge to local authority’s decision to abolish free full time nursery education for three year olds); R (Medical Justice) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWCA Civ 1710 (court of Appeal decision on the scope of the common law right of access to justice); R (Bailey) v London Borough of Brent [2011] EWCA Civ; 1586; [2011] EWHC 2572 (Admin) (leading case on library closures and the public sector equality duty); R (Hurley and Moore) v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2012] EWHC 201 (Admin) N (challenge to increase tuition fees); ALL Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition v Information Commissioner and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Judgment pending Information Tribunal appeal seeking information held about extraordinary rendition); Department of Healthy v Information Commissioner [2011] EWHC 1430 (Admin) (abortion statistics and personal data); BUAV v Information Commissioner and University of Newcastle [2011] UKUT 185 AAC (Information Upper Tribunal FOIA – seeking project licences authorising experiments on primates; R (Medical Justice) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWCA Civ 269 Application to vary/appeal against conditions imposed by trial judge on the grant of permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal; R (MN (Tanzania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWCA 193 Test case on the test to be applied by a judge on an application for judicial review of a refusal of the Secretary of State to treat further representations by an asylum seeker as a fresh claim under paragraph 353 of the lmmigration Rules; R (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWHC 3524 (Admin) Judicial review of the Secretary of State’s interim immigration cap; R (Petsafe) v Welsh Ministers [2010] EWHC 2908 (Admin) Challenge to the Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (Wales) Regulations 201 0 which prohibited in Wales the use on cats and dogs of any electronic collar designed to administer an electronic shock; R (Ghai) v Newcastle City Council and Secretary of State for Justice [2010] EWCA Civ 59 [2010] 3 All ER 380 Junior Counsel for the Secretary of State in a claim brought by religious groups challenging the ban on open air funeral pyres as being contrary to Articles 8, 9 and 14 of the ECHR.

Called 2002; Gray’s Inn; judicial assistant to the Law Lords 2003-04. Attorney General’s B Panel of counsel to the Crown 2010; member of the Welsh Government’s A Panel of Junior Counsel.

ALBA; ELBA.

Ferndale Comprehensive School; Somerville College, Oxford (2000 BA Hons Jurisprudence First Class; 2001 BCL Distinction).