Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, gave the judges a preparation period of seven days ‘to allow HMCTS to put measures in place to protect them from any potential harm once their names are released’.
Ten-year-old Sara Sharif was murdered by her father and stepmother in August 2023, in a shocking case that has provoked widespread public outrage. A group of journalists and broadcasters brought a claim seeking to overturn a reporting restriction imposed by Mr Justice Williams regarding the names of the three judges (and other social work professionals).
Counsel for the historic judges filed a note indicating none of them had sought anonymity but each of them had serious concerns about the risks to themselves and their families if they were now identified. Moreover, HMCTS security had warned the judges’ addresses could be accessed easily and their personal safety ‘severely affected’.
Giving the lead judgment in Tickle & anor v The BBC & Ors [2025] EWCA Civ 42 last week, however, Sir Geoffrey allowed the appeal ‘primarily’ on the ground of jurisdiction but also on the grounds of procedural irregularity and unfairness.
He said: ‘It is the duty of judges to sit in public… In accepting office, all judges will or should be aware that that is the expectation, because public scrutiny of judges and the justice process is essential to the rule of law.’
Two of the judges have since retired. One made a protective order removing Sara and her siblings into care on an emergency basis, while the other made an interim care order ensuring the children did not return to either parent while risk assessments were carried out. The third judge approved a joint application by the mother and father to have the child arrangements order varied by consent in the father’s favour in 2019 after first ordering a full report by Surrey Social Services.
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