Iain Steele

Iain has developed a wide-ranging public law and human rights practice, building upon his substantial academic involvement in this area. He advises and acts in areas including police powers, local government, education, prisoners’ rights, public procurement, social security and community care, commercial judicial review and environmental law.

• Austin and others v United Kingdom (ongoing)
  Acting for the applicants in this case before the European Court of Human Rights concerning the compatibility with Article 5 ECHR of "kettling" of protestors and others by the police at the May Day 2001 demonstration in Oxford Circus. The case was heard by the Grand Chamber in September 2011, judgment awaited.
• R (Alaa’ Nassif Jassim al Bazzouni) v Prime Minister and others [2011] EWHC 2401 (Admin)
  Acted as Junior Counsel for the claimant in a successful challenge to Government guidance which unlawfully authorised UK personnel to condone the use of hooding by foreign states where deemed necessary for security reasons during arrest and transit.
• R (Cart) v Upper Tribunal; R (MR) v Upper Tribunal [2011] UKSC 28; Eba v Advocate General for Scotland [2011] UKSC 29
  Acted as Junior Counsel for JUSTICE in its intervention in appeals concerning the scope of judicial review by the High Court or the Scottish Court of Session of unappealable decisions of the Upper Tribunal established under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
• R (McClure and Moos) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2011] EWHC 957 (Admin)
  Acted for the claimants in a high-profile judicial review challenge to the policing of the Climate Camp demonstration held during the G20 summit in London in April 2009, successfully arguing that the police containment (or “kettling”) of the Climate Camp and associated use of force were unlawful (led by Michael Fordham QC). The Defendant’s appeal will be heard by the Court of Appeal in December 2011.
• R (Sinclair Collis Ltd) v Secretary of State for Health [2011] EWCA Civ 437
  Acted for an Interested Party in a challenge to the ban on selling cigarettes through vending machines, based on Article 34 TFEU (free movement of goods) and Article 1 of the First Protocol to the ECHR (right to property).
• Al-Jedda v United Kingdom (Application No. 27021/08, decision of 7 July 2011)
  Acted for Liberty and JUSTICE in their intervention before the European Court of Human Rights on this important case concerning the interplay between the ECHR and other international law obligations.
• Ahmed and others v Her Majesty’s Treasury [2010] UKSC 2, [2010] 2 AC 534
  Acted for JUSTICE in its intervention in the first appeals to be heard by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, successfully arguing that two Orders in Council which provided for the freezing of alleged terrorists’ assets should be quashed (led by Michael Fordham QC).

• R (One Search Direct) v City of York Council [2010] EWHC 590 (Admin), [2010] ACD 60 (test case on the powers of local authorities to charge for access to property information).
• R (Cordant Group plc) v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2010] EWHC 3442 (Admin) (judicial review of a decision to exclude travel and subsistence expenses when assessing compliance with the national minimum wage).
• R (SRM Global Master Fund LP and others) v HM Treasury [2009] EWCA Civ 788 (shareholders’ claim under the Human Rights Act 1998 following the nationalisation of Northern Rock).
• R (Morrison) v Independent Police Complaints Commission [2009] EWHC 2589 (Admin) (judicial review claim raising issues concerning the investigative duty under Article 3 ECHR).
• R (Welsh Water Limited) v Ofwat [2009] EWHC 3493 (Admin) (judicial review of Ofwat’s decision to appoint another company to be the water and sewerage undertaker at a particular site).
• Van Colle v Chief Constable of the Hertfordshire Police [2008] UKHL 50, [2009] 1 AC 225 (leading case on the scope of the positive obligation to protect life under Article 2 ECHR).
• YL v Birmingham City Council and others [2007] UKHL 27, [2008] 1 AC 95 (leading case on the definition of "public authority" under the Human Rights Act 1998).
• R (Faithfull) v Ipswich Crown Court [2007] EWHC 2763 (Admin), [2008] 1 WLR 1636 (judicial review of the Crown Court’s failure to make a compensation order in favour of the victim of crime).

Iain’s practice encompasses all areas of employment law, including unfair and wrongful dismissal, unlawful deductions from wages and contractual matters. He regularly advises and represents both claimants and respondents in employment tribunal proceedings.

Iain has a particular interest in discrimination law and regularly appears in cases involving sex, race, age, disability, sexual orientation and religious discrimination. He acted with Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC for the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its intervention in the Court of Appeal in Bainbridge v Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Surtees v Middlesbrough Borough Council [2008] EWCA Civ 885, [2009] ICR 133, one of the most significant equal pay cases for several years.

Iain has recently been instructed with Dinah Rose QC to act for some 200 women who wish to compare their pay to that of men employed by the same local authority at different establishments. They were unsuccessful before the Scottish Court of Session in North v Dumfries & Galloway Council [2011] CSIH 2 and are now pursuing an appeal to the UK Supreme Court.

• May v Invivodata
  Acted for the Respondent in a three day trial, successfully defending whistleblowing claims. 
• Hibbert v Apple Europe Limited
  Successfully defended claims of unfair dismissal and unpaid holiday pay.
• Richards v Nationwide Building Society
  Successfully defended a claim for age discrimination following an unsuccessful job application.
• Nassar v Notz Stucki and another
  Represented the respondents in a high-profile four day trial on claims of unfair dismissal and sexual harassment valued at over £500,000.
• Sharpe v Britvic
  Successfully argued at a Pre Hearing Review that various claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination should be struck out.
• Greenhow v Travelodge
  Represented the respondent in a four day trial, successfully defending claims of unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and sexual harassment.
• Hopkins v Legal & General
  Represented the respondent in successfully defending a wrongful dismissal claim brought by an employee who was dismissed for working as a children's magician while on paid sick leave.
• North v Servite Houses
  Represented the claimant in this three-day claim for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and age discrimination.
•  Halligan v Wolverhampton City Council
  Acted for the claimant in this case which raised interesting and novel questions as to whether a care worker engaged by a registered provider of an adult placement scheme under the Adult Placement Scheme (England) Regulations 2004 is an employee of the provider.

Professional disciplinary proceedings:

• Iain advises and acts for parties in disciplinary proceedings in a variety of tribunals, including police officers and teachers.

Iain has broad experience of commercial litigation, including areas such as civil fraud, financial services and entertainment law. He regularly advises and acts in disputes involving negligence, breach of contract and restitutionary remedies in a wide range of commercial settings.

• Lucas v Financial Services Authority
  Acted for the FSA in successfully obtaining strike out and summary judgment on various claims, including on the basis that it was an abuse of process for the claimant to seek an adjudication on the validity of the FSA’s public law decision to cancel his permission other than on a reference to the Upper Tribunal. 
• Pierce v Financial Services Authority and others
  Acted for the FSA in successfully obtaining strike out and summary judgment on various claims brought against the FSA and the claimant’s former financial advisors. 
• Caparo Industries plc and Caparo Vehicle Techologies Ltd v Gordon Murray Design Limited
  Acted (with Robert Anderson QC) in a Chancery Division action concerning disputes arising out of a car design project.
• Dextra Solutions Ltd v Nsquared Creations Ltd and another
  Successfully represented the claimant in a number of claims arising from a mobile phone distribution agreement.
• CBR (Wakefield) Limited and others v Puccino's Limited
  Appeared (with Robert Anderson QC) in a very substantial High Court action arising out of a large-scale construction and franchising project, which raised issues including estoppel, waiver, variation of contractual terms, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and conspiracy (settled during six-week trial).
• Mothercare UK Ltd v McMullen
  Obtained a High Court injunction against a suspected shoplifter to prevent trespass and breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
• Lombard North Central plc v Powell
  Successfully represented Lombard in multi-track claims for large sums due under a number of lease agreements.

Iain has appeared and advised in a number of sports cases covering a range of contractual and regulatory sporting disputes, and has also advised on the exploitation of media rights to sporting events.

• BBC Worldwide v UK Athletics
  Acted for UK Athletics in a dispute concerning the international broadcast rights to athletics events held in the UK (led by Adam Lewis QC).
• Advising The Football League on issues concerning club ownership and The League’s Fit and Proper Person test, in the wake of Silvio Briatore’s ban from Formula One by the FIA and questions as to the ownership of Notts County and Leeds United.
• Advising The Football Association on a personal injury claim brought by a retired player.

Other legal experience:

Member of Lawyers for LIBERTY, ALBA, HRLA, ELBA and ELA. 

As a student, Iain gained considerable experience of mooting. He won two competitions at Cambridge and represented the University in the English Speaking Union national competition, reaching the semi-finals. During his year at Bar School, he was a finalist in the Inner Temple Lawson Mooting Competition. Iain has also judged moots.

After leaving university, Iain worked for a year as a Research Assistant in the Public Law Team at the Law Commission. He wrote a Discussion Paper on “Monetary Remedies in Public Law”, which was published by the Commission in 2004. It has since been cited by Lord Bingham in the House of Lords in Watkins v Home Office [2006] UKHL 17, [2006] 2 AC 395. Iain’s work in this field has provided the foundations for an ongoing Law Commission project.

While at Bar School, Iain was a part-time tutor at King’s College, London, where he taught Public Law to undergraduates.

Scholarships and Prizes:

Iain’s academic scholarships and prizes include:

• Eldon Law Scholarship (University of Oxford, 2005; awarded to the most promising Oxford graduate intending to practise at the Bar)
• Overall grade of Outstanding and Worshipful Company of Arbitrators Prize for Civil Law and EC Competition Law (Inns of Court School of Law, 2005)
• Prize for BVC Results (Inner Temple, 2005)
• Princess Royal Scholarship (Inner Temple, 2004)
• College Prize (Magdalen College, Oxford, 2003)
• Arts and Humanities Research Board Award for Postgraduate Study (2002)
• Lucas-Smith Memorial Prize (Queens’ College, Cambridge, 2002)
• Foundation Scholarship (Queens’ College, Cambridge, 2001)
• Squire Law Scholarship (University of Cambridge, 2000)
• College Exhibition (Queens’ College, Cambridge, 2000)

Publications:

Iain is the co-author of the chapter on equal pay in the Tolley’s Discrimination in Employment Handbook (first edition 2008; second edition 2011) and of the chapters on the Human Rights Act 1998 and principles of interpretation in Lester, Pannick and Herberg: Human Rights Law and Practice (published in April 2009).

Iain has published work in a wide range of academic journals.  Previous and forthcoming articles include:

• 'Public Law Liability – the End of the Road (For Now)' (2011) 127 LQR 512
• 'Sex discrimination and the material factor defence under the Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Equality Act 2010’ [2010] ILJ 264
• 'Judicial Review of the Crown Court and Section 29(3) of the Supreme Court Act 1981' [2008] JR 180
• ‘Negligence Liability for Failing to Prevent Crime – the Human Rights Dimension’ [2008] CLJ 239
• ‘Judicial Independence: Privy Council Divided’ (2008) 124 LQR 185
• ‘Beyond Equal Pay?’ [2008] ILJ 119
• ‘Substantive Legitimate Expectations: Striking the Right Balance?’ (2005) 121 LQR 300
• ‘Tracing the Single Source: Choice of Comparators in Equal Pay Claims’ [2005] ILJ 338
• ‘Public Law Liability – a Common Law Solution?’ [2005] CLJ 543
• ‘Public Law Liability – the Human Rights Act and Beyond’ [2005] CLJ 8
• ‘Note on R (National Association of Health Stores) v Department of Health’ [2005] JR 232
• ‘Judging judicial inquiries’ [2004] PL 738

Other Information:

VAT registration number:  888124490