Storm Eunice gave proceedings in Court 1 of the Royal Courts of Justice a regal feel this morning.
As the Duke of Sussex’s judicial review against the Home Office over his security arrangements in the UK reached the High Court for the first time, strong winds rattled the window panes as counsel battled to make themselves heard over the din.
So strong was the wind, in fact, that submissions were regularly punctuated by a strange musical sound, prompting the Home Office’s barrister Robert Palmer QC to say: ‘My submissions are being heralded by trumpets.’ Obiter thought it sounded more like a harmonica, but perhaps that was not royal enough in the circumstances.
At least Palmer was able to make all of his submissions: Shaheed Fatima QC, for the Duke, attempted to make some introductory remarks about the claim and her client’s reasons for bringing it, telling the court that he ‘does not feel safe when he is in the UK’, which ‘is and always will be his home’ – only to be swiftly slapped down by, er, Mr Justice Swift.
‘Ms Fatima, could you just focus on the issues,’ his lordship said, steering her back towards the application of CPR 5.4C, much to disappointment of the hacks in attendance. Phil and Phillipa Page may have their work cut out…
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