Rowe, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWHC 524 (Admin) (12 March 2010)

Rowe, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWHC 524 (Admin) (12 March 2010)

The refusal by the Parole Board Chair to seek a security services assessment of the claimant's risk was unlawful insofar as it failed to consider the relevance of such an assessment to the imposition of licence conditions. Given the claimant's conviction for a serious terrorist offence and the significance of licence conditions post-release, the Board was bound to seek a current security risk assessment from the security services. The court therefore ordered the Parole Board to request this assessment prior to the hearing.

Citation
[2010] EWHC 524 (Admin)
Parties
Claimant: Andrew Rowe; Defendant: The Parole Board; First Interested Party: Secretary of State for Justice; Second Interested Party: Secretary of State for the Home Department
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
12 March 2010
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Judgment on Application for Disclosure Prior to Parole Board Hearing
Outcome
Partially allowed
Legal Topics
Parole Board Procedure, Disclosure Obligations, Risk Assessment, Licence Conditions, Judicial Review, Terrorism Offences
Public Law Criminal Law Prison Law Parole Board Procedure Disclosure Obligations Risk Assessment Licence Conditions Judicial Review +1 more

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Parties

Andrew Rowe

Claimant

The Parole Board

Defendant

Secretary of State for Justice

First Interested Party

Secretary of State for the Home Department

Second Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Judgment on Application for Disclosure Prior to Parole Board Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Parole Board must take reasonable steps to obtain and disclose current risk assessments from police/MAPPA and the security services prior to a parole hearing for a terrorism offender
  2. 2 Whether refusal to seek such information renders the parole process unfair, particularly regarding licence conditions

Ratio Decidendi

The refusal by the Parole Board Chair to seek a security services assessment of the claimant's risk was unlawful insofar as it failed to consider the relevance of such an assessment to the imposition of licence conditions. Given the claimant's conviction for a serious terrorist offence and the significance of licence conditions post-release, the Board was bound to seek a current security risk assessment from the security services. The court therefore ordered the Parole Board to request this assessment prior to the hearing.

Court Disposition

Partially allowed

Orders

  • The Parole Board is ordered to write to the Secretary of State for Justice requesting the Security Service's current assessment of the security risk posed by the claimant, specifically regarding the risk of terrorism activities on release.
  • No further disclosure of MAPPA minutes or other materials is required beyond the security services assessment.