Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Williams v Hackney: Section 20 consent, expiry of police protection and Article 8 damages—guidance for local authorities and parent lawyers (England and Wales)

Published on: 20 October 2015

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

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Williams and another v London Borough of Hackney [2015] EWHC 2629 (QB), [2015] All ER (D) 99 (Sep). The Queen’s Bench Division ordered damages of £10,000 for each claimant parent. While the children’s initial removal from the family home was lawful and a proportionate step to protect them from harm, the defendant authority’s continued retention of the children after the police protection order expired was unlawful; accordingly, the resulting interference with the parents’ article 8 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) rights was also unlawful. What issues did the court have to decide in this claim? How rare or noteworthy is the decision? The background is that on 5 July 2007 Mr and Mrs Williams were arrested following allegations by one of their eight children that they would regularly use excessive corporal punishment to discipline the children. In light of those allegations, the parents were arrested and the children were placed in foster care under police protection. On 6 July 2007, before the 72 hours had elapsed. Thus, though the initial safeguarding step was proportionate, keeping the children apart after the police protection lapsed lacked lawful basis, making the ongoing separation and the resulting article 8 interference unlawful in...

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