Re C (A Child) (Care Proceedings – Publication of Judgment)

Citation

[2024] EWFC 228 (B)

Within this matter the court made significant findings of systemic failings against both the local authority and the police force, including that the local authority had improperly pursued findings of historic sexual abuse against the subject child’s grandparents without proper evidence or analysis. As a result, the child was improperly placed in foster care for a total of 17 months. The local authority subsequently sought to withdraw the care proceedings, this judgment was handed down on 7th May 2024.

An issue then arose as to whether the substantive judgment should be published and if so, whether the police force and local authority should be named.

Within this case, Ashleigh Herbert represented the police force who argued that the initial judgment should not be published. The police force accepted the failings that were identified by the court, however argued: naming of the police force may impact on the ongoing investigation; there was a risk to the personal safety and privacy of individual officers and the police force should they be named; the police force required time to implement corrective measures; and there was a potential impact to the child and their family ie. ‘public gossip.’

The court undertook a careful analysis of the competing rights under Articles 6, 8, and 10 of the ECHR and determined the balance lay in the publication of the judgment with redaction/anonymisation.

Following this judgment an application was made by Louise Tickle and Tortoise Media to revisit the issue regarding the naming of the local authority and the police force (Tortoise Media v A Local Authority in Wales & Ors [2024] EWFC 306(B)). The court opposed this application.