Edward Lamb KC is chairing the second day of the Adult Brain Injury Conference in Manchester, on Friday 12 June. He also presented a talk: 𝐔𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤. The Adult Brain Injury Conference is taking place at the Lowry (Salford Quays) in Manchester. The annual event brings together legal, healthcare, and case management professionals dedicated to supporting individuals affected by brain injury. Michael Goodridge and Jaime Brooks also attended the conference. #DekaChambers #PersonalInjury #CourtofProtection

🗓️𝐃𝐄𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑: 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 – 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬🗓️ Section 96 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 implements a proposal of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse by introducing new provisions into the Limitation Act 1980 in relation to claims for child sexual abuse. Paul Stagg KC (who successfully defended the claims in (𝐀𝐁 𝐯 𝐋𝐞𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐂 [2026] 𝐄𝐖𝐇𝐂 331 [𝐊𝐁]under the existing limitation provisions) and Bethany Hutchison will provide an introduction to and analysis of the new provisions, which come into effect on June 29th 2026. An understanding of the new law is essential to those who represent claimants and defendants in child sexual abuse litigation. 🗓️ Friday 26 June ⏰ 1pm- 2pm 🔗dekachambers.com/2026/06/11/… #DekaChambers

Giles Bedloe successfully concluded the prosecution in Operation Orientation, a case widely reported in the media, at Winchester Crown Court on the 5th of June 2026. The defendant, Anwar Ashraf, was convicted of attempted murder in April for stabbing his ex-partner. He was sentenced to 26 years' imprisonment with an extended licence of a further 5 years and a restraining order for life. Ashraf had attended his ex-partner’s place of work by taxi having bombarded her with over 40 calls and messages. After circling in the shadows waiting for her arrival, he stabbed her 17 times in a jealousy-fuelled kitchen-knife frenzy. The victim was saved by colleagues who heard her screams. She was in hospital for 10 days following the attack, undergoing emergency life-saving surgery and being left with life-changing injuries.

Thank you to everyone who attended our half day conference on amputations on Tuesday 9 June held at the International Arbitration Centre (IAC). A big thank also to our Chair and Organiser, Rob Horner, and our speakers. ➡️ Advancements in surgical techniques - Mr Edmund Fitzgerald O'Connor a leading consultant plastic surgeon and Head of Plastic Surgery at St Thomas’ Hospital London ➡️ Advancements in prosthetics in modern rehab - Alan McDougall, Clinical Director/Clinical Specialist Prosthetist, and Natalie Morrow, Clinic Manager and Prosthetist/Orthotist ➡️ Advancements in legal argument on amputee claims - Stuart McKechnie KC and Laura Begley Despite a downpour in the morning, our guests were able to enjoy the fantastic terrace at the IAC at well-timed sunny spells during the breaks. #DekaChambers #PersonalInjury #IAC

Thom Dyke and Jennie Oborne were invited to speak at the recent Association of Police Lawyers (APL) National Security Conference, which took place on 8 June 2026 at the Counter Terrorism Operations Centre (CTOC) in London. They covered a range of issues in international criminal law and how they impact on policing in the context of national security and the prosecution of atrocity crimes under universal jurisdiction. Thom and Jennie give regular training in this niche area, both in the UK and abroad at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and elsewhere. Recent training includes crimes against humanity, open-source evidence, the role AI in human rights, expert witnesses (including forensic accountants and doctors), and dealing with vulnerable witnesses. Both Thom and Jennie have extensive expertise in domestic and international criminal law and are regularly instructed in complex and sensitive cases involving national security and human rights issues. #DekaChambers

We are delighted to welcome Kane Simons and Daniel Boal to Deka Chambers. They join us from 18 St John Street Chambers. Kane specialises in personal injury law, predominantly representing claimants in complex, high-value cases. He has experience across all quantum aspects of catastrophic injury, especially claims arising from polytrauma, brain injuries, spinal injuries, and complex orthopaedic injuries 🔗 Read more about his practice: dekachambers.com/barrister/k… Daniel takes instructions in a wide range of personal injury and clinical negligence matters, acting for both claimants and defendants, with a particular focus on cases involving serious injuries. Daniel has a broad multi track practice. 🔗 Read more about his practice: dekachambers.com/barrister/d… To instruct Kane or Daniel please contact our clerking team: clerks@dekachambers.com #DekaChambers #PersonalInjury #ClinicalNegligence

This week Anirudh Mandagere gives us the most lucid explanation we have yet seen of the decision of the  𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝’𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 [2026] 𝐔𝐊𝐒𝐂 16 relating to deprivation of liberty. We also bring news, from Robert Parkin and Dominique Smith respectively, of two case management decisions, one involving a quite extraordinary set of facts and the other a tragic case in which there can be no winners. 🔗dekachambers.com/2026/06/08/… #DekaChambers #TravelLaw #PersonalInjury

A team of Deka Chambers barristers and clerks took part in The Big Purple Quiz Night – a charity quiz evening to which we were kindly invited by Switalskis Solicitors, in support of SUDEP Action and the Charlie Card initiative. SUDEP Action is the UK’s leading and only specialist charity dedicated to supporting those bereaved by epilepsy and working to prevent future deaths. The Charlie Card campaign is designed to help epilepsy patients access emergency medication and better understand their right to urgent repeat supplies. Find out more about the Charlie Card campaign here: sudep.org/charlie-card/ Pictured: Mark Bradley (front left), George Housden (centre left), Robert Parkin (back Left), William Dean (back right) Lily Mason (centre right) and Jamie Levell (front right). #DekaChambers

Edwin Buckett wins claim against Transport for London On 29 May 2026, following a 3-day trial before HHJ Murch, liability was established in a personal injury claim brought by a passenger who sustained a severe spinal fracture, amongst other injuries, when the doors of a stationary Northern Line train closed on her as she attempted to board it at Edgware Station. Edwin was instructed by Vince Reynolds (Thompsons, London) on behalf of the Claimant. Read the full case summary on the website: dekachambers.com/2026/06/02/… #DekaChambers #PersonalInjury

This week Sarah Prager KC examines a recent judgment of the Court of Appeal relating to the late service of witness evidence. Meanwhile the team has been celebrating Andrew Spencer and wishing him well as he embarks on the next stage of his career – he will be sitting as a District Judge in London. We will miss him as an enthusiastic and supportive colleague, but look forward to being judged by him. 🔗 dekachambers.com/2026/06/01/… #DekaChambers #TravelLaw #PersonalInjury

𝐀 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫: In this update on reported Clinical Negligence cases Lisa Dobie recommends that practitioners take a look at two recently reported cases concerning applications to amend clinical negligence pleadings - In each case the applications to amend were made late. In 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬 the application to amend (along with several other consequential applications) was made close to trial and would require the trial date to be vacated. In 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧 (on appeal) there had been a long delay in making the application to amend and the limitation period had since passed. In 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬, Cotter J reminds us: "95. ....𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯. 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯." ➡️ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐯 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 [2026] 𝐄𝐖𝐇𝐂 1088 (𝐊𝐁) ➡️ 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧 (𝐀𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐫 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝) 𝐯 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐍𝐇𝐒 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 [2026] 𝐄𝐖𝐇𝐂 1089 (𝐊𝐁) 🔗 dekachambers.com/2026/05/28/…

The King has appointed Andrew Spencer to be a District Judge on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, the Right Honourable David Lammy MP and the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Right Honourable The Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill. The Lady Chief Justice has deployed him to the South Eastern Circuit, based at Edmonton County Court, with effect from 2 June 2026. Andrew Spencer will be known as District Judge Andrew Spencer. He was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 2004. He was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2020. 🔗 judiciary.uk/appointments-an…

This week John Schmitt covers a decision regarding a Defendant seeking to withdraw from a pre-action admission of liability: 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬) 𝐋𝐭𝐝 𝐯 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐭𝐝 [2026] 𝐄𝐖𝐇𝐂 393 (𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦). In this most fiendishly difficult of procedural areas, he is a most welcome and erudite guide. Meanwhile, 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 examines another case involving a service point revolving around service by email, usually but by no means always a dangerous enterprise. In other news, we were intrigued to note recently that the Court of Appeal has provided a further elucidation of the decision of the 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐯 𝐓𝐔𝐈 [2025] 𝐔𝐊𝐒𝐂 48, familiar to all our readers. In a very different context, in 𝐌𝐑 (𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧) 𝐯 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 [2026] 𝐄𝐖𝐂𝐀 𝐂𝐢𝐯 473  the Court commented [78]: “It is necessary to identify, first, the nature of the ‘rule’ which was at issue in TUI. The rule is not a rule that (subject to exceptions) a party to litigation may not make submissions impugning the credibility or reliability of the evidence of a witness unless the witness has been cross-examined about those points. The rule as explained in the cases summarised by Lord Hodge is narrower than that. It is based on fairness, and on the principle, referred to by Bean LJ in his dissent, that litigation should not be conducted by ambush. The rule does not apply if the witness already knows, because the questions have been articulated earlier in the litigation, that his evidence is disputed, and, he is not, therefore, taken by surprise. The rule, rather, is that if he does not know in advance about the disputed matters, and has not been cross-examined about them, submissions cannot be made impugning his credibility (unless an exception to the rule applies).” It is now clear, if it were not before, that the rule articulated in Griffiths does not operate – as some commentators have believed – as a quasi reversal of the burden of proof, but rather as a procedural safeguard intended to ensure fairness in the most general sense. As such it is really an expression of the overriding objective, perhaps nothing more. 🔗 dekachambers.com/2026/05/26/… #DekaChambers #TravelLaw #PersonalInjury

In 𝐏𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐫 𝐯 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬 [2026] 𝐄𝐖𝐂𝐀 𝐂𝐢𝐯 650 the Court of Appeal has confirmed that an application to extend time to comply with a court order, made prior to the deadline for compliance, operates to prevent any sanction associated with non-compliance taking effect. This is important because it means that the application is not one for relief from sanctions under CPR 3.9, but one to extend time under CPR 3.1. In reaching this conclusion, the Court of Appeal has resolved the apparent tension between CPR 3.8 and 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐦 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐯 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 [2014] 𝐄𝐖𝐂𝐀 𝐂𝐢𝐯 661. Simon Brindle acted for the Claimant and was instructed by Ralli. Read the case summary and judgment on the Deka Chambers website: dekachambers.com/2026/05/22/…

This week Charlie Stonehill considers a difficult philosophical question: is there any distinction between not telling the truth and lying? Readers will readily appreciate that the question is not just an abstract one; the answer to it matters for the purposes of QOWCS and other costs considerations. The team is also looking forward to a trip to Barcelona, where Dominique Smith will be chairing a session at the The Pan-European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers (PEOPIL) joint mass torts and product liability/women in law conference. If you’re attending, do come and find us – Bethany Hutchison will also be in attendance and will be delighted to meet you. 🔗dekachambers.com/2026/05/18/… #DekaChambers #TravelLaw #PersonalInjury

𝐍𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐯 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 [2026] 𝐄𝐖𝐇𝐂 113 (𝐊𝐁) After previously striking out the claimant’s libel claim against the first defendant, the High Court struck out a false imprisonment claim against the first defendant as there were no reasonable grounds for bringing it. Mrs Justice Williams also struck out a data protection claim as there were no reasonable grounds for bringing that claim and its pursuit would be an abuse of process. The court also refused the claimant’s applications to amend his claim to add a claim in false imprisonment against further defendants and for them to be added to the proceedings for that purpose, to add a new claim of conspiracy against the defendant and proposed defendants, and to add a data protection claim against one of the proposed defendants Simon Butler and Anirudh Mandagere acted on behalf of the Second and Third Defendants. They were instructed by Advocate. #DekaChambers

Stephanie Hayward and Imogen Todd will be attending the @legalcheek Awards this evening. Deka Chambers is delighted to be nominated in the following categories: ⭐ Best chambers for quality of work 2026 ⭐ Best chambers for colleague supportiveness 2026 ⭐ Best chambers for facilities 2026 📌 The Legal Cheek Awards 2026 is taking place at Kings Place, London, on Thursday 14 May 2026 #DekaChambers #LegalCheekAwards2026 #LegalCheekAwards

We will be attending the Advanced Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Conference by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (@APIL ). The following barristers will be at the conference: ➡️ Laura Johnson KC ➡️ Edward Lamb KC ➡️ Stephen Glynn ➡️ Laura Begley ➡️ Christopher Stephenson ➡️ Jeremy Ford ➡️ Robert Horner ➡️ Linda Nelson ➡️ Sabrina Hartshorn ➡️ Christopher Lowe From our clerking team Michael Goodridge and Jaime Brooks will be attending. Details of the conference: 📌Leonardo Hotel and Conference Venue Hinckley Island in Hinckley 📅 Wednesday, 13 - 15 May We are looking forward to meeting new faces and reconnecting with colleagues and friends at the conference. #DekaChambers #ABSCI26

Imogen Todd looks at the recent decision in 𝐗 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘 (𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧: 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞) [2026] 𝐔𝐊𝐒𝐂 13, in which the UK Supreme Court ruled that courts have no inherent jurisdiction to revoke a valid adoption order outside the limited statutory exceptions or the appeal process. 🔗 Read more here: dekachambers.com/2026/05/12/… #DekaChambers