We are delighted to announce the Brook House Inquiry Team at Garden Court Chambers has been shortlisted for the Halsbury Rule of Law Award at the Lexis Nexis UK 2023 Awards. The Awards will take place on Thursday 23 March 2023.
Lawyers representing former detainees who were mistreated and abused at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre and lawyers representing NGOs have been jointly shortlisted.
We dedicate the recognition in this award category to the courage of those people detained at Brook House and whistleblowers who seek accountability in defence of the rule of law for the systemic abuse and misuse of immigration detention powers at Brook House and beyond.
Congratulations to all members of the Garden Court Chambers Brook House Public Inquiry Team: Stephanie Harrison KC leading Louise Hooper, Gordon Lee, Kirsten Heaven, Una Morris, and Alex Schymyck.
Congratulations to all of the other Brook House legal teams at Duncan Lewis, Bhatt Murphy, Deighton Pierce Glynn, Landmark Chambers, Doughty Street Chambers and Matrix Chambers. We are hugely grateful to Medical Justice and Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group for their immense contribution to the Inquiry and for supporting our nomination for this award.
The abuse at Brook House was exposed by a BBC Panorama undercover report by Callum Tully, a former G4S guard, in 2017. Following the Panorama broadcast, the legal teams and NGOs had been working tirelessly to secure an effective investigation into the abuse at Brook House. This culminated with a Statutory Public Inquiry being instituted in 2019.
This followed a landmark High Court ruling on the investigative duty under Article 3 ECHR. This resulted in the widespread mistreatment of detained people, many of them suffering from severe mental illnesses and who should never have been in detention at all.
The final Inquiry report is anticipated soon. It is hoped that the final report vindicates the bravery of those detained persons who suffered such appalling abuse at Brook House and that fundamental change will follow.
