Lord chancellor Dominic Raab made a ‘direct request’ for striking criminal barristers’ names to be provided to the Ministry of Justice, according to emails obtained by the Criminal Bar Association – a charge the department says is ‘categorically untrue’.

The Gazette revealed in June that court staff were asked to report the names of counsel who did not attend court due to the CBA’s industrial action, with data to be sent to Raab.

The MoJ emphatically denied that names were being provided to the department, saying that it was ‘monitoring the number of disrupted cases due to strike action by the Criminal Bar Association to assess the impact on the justice system’.

Dominic Raab

The MoJ says it is ‘categorically untrue’ that names were requested by Raab or the department

Source: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Shutterstock

The CBA wrote to the MoJ in July and said that ‘this unlawful processing [was] very obviously highly privacy intrusive’, adding that the apparent policy to collect barristers’ personal data was ‘introduced precisely so as to unsettle barristers and make them fearful of participating in the strike’.

Its complaint was also raised with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which has now opened an investigation into concerns that the MoJ was unlawfully processing barristers’ personal data, Mishcon de Reya, which is acting pro bono for the CBA, said yesterday.

The London firm said that ‘information subsequently disclosed to the CBA and shared with the [Information] Commissioner shows that – whether or not he requested actual names be given to him personally – Mr Raab did direct the collection in the first place’. It referred to ‘internal court service emails’ which state that the order to collect barristers’ data was ‘a direct request from the deputy prime minister with full knowledge of the downsides’.

‘It is understood that, despite this direction request, no names were ultimately directly shared with Mr Raab,’ Mishcon added.

CBA chair Kirsty Brimelow QC said: ‘It would have been a better discharge of ministerial duties for the deputy prime minister and justice aecretary to meet with the CBA and resolve the ongoing barrister action. We are seeking to prevent the complete collapse of the criminal justice system – the door remains open.’

An MoJ spokesperson said: ‘It is categorically untrue that the justice secretary or ministry of justice has requested the names of any barristers.’

An spokesperson for the information commissioner said: ‘We are aware of this matter and are considering information submitted to us, in addition to making our own enquiries.’

 

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