Alex is a public law and civil liberties barrister. He accepts instructions in Administrative and Public Law, Immigration, Community Care, Mental Health and Actions Against the Police.
Alex is frequently instructed in urgent judicial review proceedings and has significant experience appearing unled in interim relief applications before the High Court and Upper Tribunal. Alongside his judicial review work, Alex appears in asylum and human rights appeals.
Alex has a longstanding commitment to protecting the rights of immigration detainees. Alongside acting in many unlawful detention claims, Alex was instructed on the Brook House Inquiry and has published academic analysis of the law of immigration detention. Alex regularly advises on civil claims in this area.
Immigration detention, asylum & deportation
ASK v United Kingdom (43556/20) (ongoing)
Alex acts for Bail for Immigration Detainees in an intervention before the European Court of Human Rights concerning the detention of vulnerable individuals suffering from mental illness (led by Greg Ó Ceallaigh KC).
TOEIC Civil Claims (ongoing)
Alex acts for a large number of claimants in a group claim against the Home Office for making baseless allegations of fraud in TOEIC exams (led by Greg Ó Ceallaigh KC).
R(Nakrasevicius) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1856 (Admin)
Alex acted unled before the High Court and secured interim relief in this challenge concerning the overlap between immigration detention and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
R (Oji) v Director of Legal Aid Casework [2024] EWHC 1281 (Admin); [2024] 4 WLR 53
Alex acted in a challenge to the absence of legal aid for Windrush Compensation Scheme applications (led by Chris Butler KC and Grace Brown).
Varkey & Joseph (ETS – Hidden rooms) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKUT 00142 (IAC)
Alex acted in this test case challenging the approach taken by the Upper Tribunal to establishing allegations of TOEIC fraud (led by Greg Ó Ceallaigh KC).
R(MT) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Alex acted in this challenge on behalf of an immigration detainee with very severe mental illness who had been subject to unlawful removal from association (led by Nick Armstrong KC). The Defendant conceded the claim shortly before trial and accepted that there had been a breach of Article 3 ECHR.
R(Barizi) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3491 (Admin)
Alex acted unled before the High Court and secured a mandatory order for the claimant to be released from immigration detention to Schedule 10 accommodation.
R (AJ & AK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Alex was instructed in this policy challenge concerning failures in the evacuation of Harmondsworth IRC during November 2022 (led by Nick Armstrong KC). The Defendant conceded the claim on the first day of trial and accepted that there had been a breach of Article 3 ECHR, alongside paying the Claimants substantial damages.
Brook House Inquiry
Alex is instructed on behalf of several core participants in the Brook House Inquiry concerning the mistreatment and abuse of vulnerable detainees at Brook House IRC following a Panorama investigation in 2016 (led by Stephanie Harrison KC).
R (AJ & AK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (ongoing)
Alex is instructed in a policy challenge concerning failures in the evacuation of Harmondsworth IRC during November 2022 (led by Nick Armstrong KC).
Re Manston Short Term Holding Centre
Alex was instructed by a leading NGO to provide advice regarding a potential challenge to systemic failures at Manston Short-Term Holding Facility (STHF) during the widely reported migrant arrival crisis in September and October 2022 (led by Greg Ó Ceallaigh KC). Press Coverage: The Guardian, BBC News, The Independent.
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Community care law
R (HZ and Others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 660 (Admin)
Alex was instructed by Shelter on this challenge to the policy regarding Bridging Hotel accommodation provided to Afghan refugees (led by Martin Westgate KC). News item here. Press Coverage: Evening Standard, ITV News
R (Ganpot) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 197 (Admin)
Alex appeared unled for three claimants and successfully obtained a mandatory order requiring the SSHD to accommodate them at a contested interim relief hearing.
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Mental health law
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v Secretary of State for Health And Social Care [2023] EWHC 3182 (Admin); [2024] 2 WLR 1113
Alex acted for MIND in a successful intervention to this case concerning the lawfulness of remote assessment to renew Community Treatment Orders (led by Roger Pezzani).
SS v Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust [2023] UKUT 258 (AAC)
Alex acted in this successful appeal concerning the requirement to obtain aftercare information (led by Roger Pezzani).
AC v Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust [2023] MHLO 1 (UT)
Alex appeared unled before the Upper Tribunal in an application for permission to appeal concerning the refusal to make a statutory recommendation rather than an extra-statutory recommendation.
Buckinghamshire CC v MP (unreported)
Alex appeared on behalf of the patient’s parent and resisted a Nearest Relative displacement application.
