Sam Karim KC successfully led the defence of the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) in a rare case where the Administrative Court examined the ambit of the Public Inquiries Act 2005 in D1914 & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1853 (Admin).
In this decision, the Administrative Court dismissed the judicial review challenge to the SSHD’s response to the Brook House Inquiry report. The claimants argued that the Government had failed to adequately implement the inquiry’s recommendations.
Lang J accepted the SSHD’s submission that the investigative duty under Article 3 ECHR does not extend to the State’s response to inquiry recommendations. While the Government has discretion in how it responds, the Court found it had sufficiently addressed most recommendations through policy changes, training, and operational improvements. The Court also held that there was no breach of the Article 3 systems duty and, fundamentally, that the Public Inquiries Act 2005 does not require specific performance of recommendations arising from a public inquiry.
The judgment emphasised that the separation of powers prevents the Court from acting as a “second inquiry” to review the adequacy of Government responses to statutory inquiries. Finally, the decision reaffirmed that Parliamentary privilege severely restricts reliance on ministerial statements or committee reports in litigation to support grounds of legitimate expectation.
This case is a must-read for public inquiry practitioners. View the decision here.
Sam Karim KC is a leading practitioner in Administrative Law and Public Inquiries and is ranked as a Band 1 Silk.
Join our mailing list if you want to be kept up to date with our future seminars & conferences.
