Cases

Webster & Ors v The Governors of the Ridgway Foundation School

Held

(1) The request for disclosure of names of pupils in memos relating to the “climate of racial tension” could not be objected to on the grounds of proportionality as the application was focussed and the numbers of pupils involved was small. However, disclosure of their identities would be an interference with their private lives, especially as the matters discussed had caused many of them upset. In any event, it was not necessary for the applicants to know their identities to have a fair trial. Identifiers were sufficient.

(2) Under CPR r.31.14, mention of a document in a witness statement would usually trigger a right to inspection. However, this position was subject to qualifications in CPR r.31.3. Allowing inspection of the whole database would be disproportionate in this case. Furthermore, requiring the governors to provide a redacted version of the database would be a very substantial task which was disproportionate to the issues in the case.

Also