Paul Livingston part of the final report of the Brook House Inquiry

The final report of the Brook House Inquiry, in which Paul Livingston was Junior Counsel to the Inquiry, was published yesterday, 19th September 2023.

The Inquiry, chaired by Kate Eves, was established to investigate the mistreatment of people detained at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre from April to August 2017, following a BBC Panorama investigation which was broadcast in September 2017, showing covert footage recorded over that period.

The Inquiry found 19 incidents in which there was credible evidence of acts or omissions that were capable of amounting to mistreatment contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, including inappropriate use of force, unnecessary infliction of pain, physical violence, threatening and humiliating comments, and inappropriate segregation. Findings were also made about failures in the contract between G4S and the Home Office to run Brook House, the physical design and environment of the Centre, the lack of safeguards for detained people, the provision of healthcare, the culture at Brook House, the approach to complaints and the inspection and monitoring regime.

The Chair made 33 recommendations, including that the government “must introduce in legislation a maximum 28-day time limit on any individual’s detention within an immigration removal centre”, an urgent review of the use of force on detained people with mental ill health and action to improve the process for and response to whistleblowing.

The inquiry has received a lot of media coverage including The Guardian, Independent and BBC.

Find out more

Paul is a civil practitioner specialising in Employment & Discrimination/Harassment, and Public Inquiries.

His work includes both written and oral advocacy in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, Employment Tribunal, County Courts, and in Public Inquiry hearings. He also advices on a wide range of employment and discrimination issues and has been continuously instructed as Counsel to the Inquiry on at least one Public Inquiry since beginning tenancy.

Paul was appointed to the C Panel of the Attorney General’s Counsel to the Crown in 2020 and undertakes public law work in his areas of specialism.

To find out more about Paul, contact Nick Levett +44 (0)20 7427 4908 or Mark Gardner +44 (0)20 7427 4909. 

External Publications 20 Sep, 2023