Administrative and Public Law News

Mathew Gullick KC and Matthew Cannings in Court of Appeal over the introduction of property licensing schemes

21st January 2026

On 20 January 2026, 3PB's Mathew Gullick KC and Matthew Cannings (pictured here, left to right) appeared before the Court of Appeal in R (on the application of Luton Landlords & Letting Agents Ltd) v Luton Borough Council, a dispute over the introduction of property licensing schemes in Luton. In the High Court, Mrs Justice Heather Williams determined that the Appellant company did not have standing to bring the claim under section 31(3) of the...

The Rt. Hon Michael Tomlinson KC asked to join Ethics and Integrity Commission

8th January 2026

The Rt. Hon Michael Tomlinson KC has been asked to join the new Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC). Michael was appointed by the UK Prime Minister, having been nominated by the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch. The Commission was launched on 13 October 2025 and replaces the Committee on Standards in Public Life. The EIC has a range of responsibilities, including promoting the highest standards in public life, and advising public authorities on the...

William Hansen, Thomas O'Donohoe and Gemma Ralph appointments to the Attorney General's London Panel

1st September 2025

3PB Barristers (3 Paper Buildings) is delighted to announce that William Hansen, Thomas O'Donohoe and Gemma Ralph have been appointed to the Attorney General’s London Panel for a period of five years, commencing today Monday 1st September 2025. William has been re-appointed to the London A Panel, Tom has been promoted to the London B Panel and Gemma has been appointed to the London C Panel. William Hansen regularly acts for a variety of government...

Policy for accommodating asylum seekers at ex-RAF base found unlawful

14th March 2025

The High Court has today found that the Home Secretary breached the public sector equality duty, (‘PSED’) in s.149(1) of the Equality Act 2010, when arranging for single adult male asylum seekers to be accommodated at a remote ex-RAF base in the north Essex village of Wethersfield. The judgment in TG and others v SSHD [2025] EWHC 596 (Admin) follows over a year of litigation prompted by the previous government’s emphasis on the use of...

Matthew Cannings appointed as a Recorder on the Western Circuit

11th November 2024

The 270-barrister national chambers, 3PB Barristers (3 Paper Buildings), is delighted to announce that Matthew Cannings - who heads 3PB's Property and Estates Group - has been appointed by His Majesty the King as a Recorder on the Western Circuit. His part-time judicial appointment takes effect from next Monday 18 November 2024. Matthew was called to the bar in 2006 and was appointed as a part-time Deputy District Judge in 2019. Matthew has nearly twenty...

3PB congratulates its Public and Regulatory Law team for earning 3 new rankings in this year’s Chambers and Partners edition. To its existing 2 accolades for Administrative and Public Law, the team has added 2 rankings for Professional Discipline and one ranking for Inquests and Public Inquiries. Head of Group Mathew Gullick KC commented: “This significant gain in Chambers and Partners’ latest publication reflects both new and existing members of our national set of chambers,...

Rachel Best KC joins three highly rated practice teams at 3PB

7th October 2024

3 Paper Buildings (3PB) is delighted to announce that leading barrister and silk Rachel Best KC (2006 call) has joined chambers as an associate member. Rachel specialises in employment and discrimination disputes, judicial reviews, inquests and personal injury cases. She was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2006, the Bar of Ireland in 2021 and was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2022. She was promoted to Silk in 2024....

Former Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC returns to 3PB

26th September 2024

Former Solicitor General in England and Wales, the Rt.Hon. Michael Tomlinson KC (call:2002) is returning to 3PB (3 Paper Buildings) to practice as a barrister after more than 9 years as an MP and becoming one of UK’s top law enforcement officers. Michael was the first newly appointed King’s Counsel in 2022 and was sworn in as a member of His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council in February 2024. Michael will be based in the...

Naomi Webber appointed to Attorney General's C Panel

19th August 2024

Chambers is delighted to announce that Naomi Webber has been appointed to the Attorney General’s C Panel (London) for a period of five years, commencing on Sunday 1st September 2024. She joins seven other 3PB barristers on the Attorney General’s (AG’s) panel of counsel including A Panel members of William Hansen, Richard Wheeler and Mark Green. Naomi is now one of 19 3PB barristers on the Attorney General's London and Regional Panels and undertaking "Junior...

Ben Amunwa in systematic judicial review challenge to asylum accommodation at ex-RAF base Wethersfield

25th July 2024

3PB's public law barrister Ben Amunwa is on the counsel team representing four ex-residents of MDP Wethersfield, near Braintree in Essex, who are taking legal action against the Home Secretary, claiming she acted unlawfully by housing them at the site. The asylum seekers stayed at the former airbase between July 2023, when the site opened, until February 2024, in accommodation described to the High Court by their counsel as "seriously inadequate". The Home Secretary has...

Mathew Gullick KC sees new judgment handed down today from the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR

11th June 2024

Today, Tuesday 11th June, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) handed down its judgment in Nealon & Hallam v United Kingdom. The applicants alleged that refusals of compensation under the statutory compensation scheme for miscarriages of justice in England & Wales involved violations of the presumption of innocence in Article 6(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Their arguments were rejected in judicial review proceedings in the High...

Criminal ban on returning to unauthorised encampments declared incompatible with ECHR

16th May 2024

Ben Amunwa, specialist public law barrister at 3PB Barristers, led by Tim Buley KC of Landmark Chambers, represented Liberty, the second intervener, in Smith v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1137 (Admin). Ben writes about the High Court’s decision in this case, and its finding that key parts of the Police, Crime, Sentencing Courts Act 2022 amendments to Part V of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, were unlawful....