Frances Gibb has written in The Times (」) about the number of cases being heard in the Family Division concerning extremism. The piece features quotations from Mr Justice Hayden in A Local Authority v Y [2017] EWHC 968 (Fam) (27 April 2017) where Martin Downs appeared for the Local Authority instructed by Natasha Watson of Orbis Law.

The strategy of applying for injunctions to prevent children travelling to Syria and of making them wards of court was devised by Martin Downs and he has appeared in a whole series of such cases over the past three years.

Members of Chambers have also intervened in many such cases with Marina Wheeler QC appearing for the Home Secretary in a successful application for public interest immunity in the Radicalisation C (A Child), Re (No 2) (Application for Public Interest Immunity) [2017] EWHC 692 and David Evans QC and Matthew Hill obtained disclosure on behalf of the Security Service from family proceedings in Proceedings in X, Y and Z (Disclosure to the Security Service) [2016] EWHC 2400. They were instructed by the Metropolitan Police.

David Manknell resisted a claim in the Court of Appeal in ZX, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for Justice [2017] EWCA Civ 155 which concerned licence conditions set by the Probation Service and the consequent family separation in the context of radicalisation. The Claimant had been convicted of terrorist offences and the conditions prevented him from having contact with his children during the licence period. David was instructed by Chris Yong of the Government Legal Department.

Judgment is awaited in the Judicial Review of the Government’s counter-extremism strategy where Oliver Sanders QC and Amelia Walker appeared for the Home Secretary. Oliver Sanders QC also acted as Counsel to the Intelligence Services Commissioner in his inquiry into the government’s responsibilities in relation to partner counter-terrorism units overseas.

Angus McCullough QC and Shaheen Rahman QC have appeared in many cases dealing with terrorism and the appropriateness of protective measures and recently acted as special advocates in R (on the application of MR) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 469 (Admin) (10 March 2017) on a review of a decision to cancel the passport of a man who had been linked to terrorist activity in Syria and as to whether it infringed his rights of free movement under EU law. Angus and Shaheen were instructed by the Special Advocates Support Office.

Angus McCullough QC was instructed in Abdulbaqi Khaled v Security Service and others where the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service had to make disclosure when faced with a claim that they had knowingly relied on information obtained by torture in order to place the claimant’s name on the United Nations’ consolidated sanctions list. In addition Angus appeared in three actions brought by individuals who claimed to have been ill treated by the British armed forces during the Iraq war. The case is widely known as Yunus Rahmatullah v Ministry Of Defence Prevent, Radicalisation and Terrorism.

Marina Wheeler QC and Martin Downs have been interviewed on the BBC and written widely elsewhere on the legal issues thrown up by these cases.