The UK Supreme Court began hearing an abuse survivor’s appeal Wednesday over a ruling that extended courtroom immunity to police file preparation and barred her claims concerning a disclosed confidential address.
The woman, identified in court as XGY, is appealing against the Chief Constable of Sussex Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The dispute concerns whether immunity protecting an advocate’s statements in court also covers the police work that produced a prosecution file.
In October 2025, the Court of Appeal held that the protection extended to police preparation of the file in this case. It said allowing a claim about that work would sidestep the prosecutor’s immunity. The ruling struck out claims based on the disclosure of XGY’s Hampshire address, including a data protection claim, and reinstated summary judgment on related human rights claims.
The disclosure occurred during a bail hearing for XGY’s former partner. She had given police her address in confidence, but they included it in the file sent to the CPS without marking it confidential. A prosecutor then disclosed it while seeking a bail condition intended to protect her. XGY later left the home, according to the Court of Appeal judgment.
A separate claim against police over an earlier disclosure was outside the appeal. The ruling on the Hampshire incident leaves XGY unable to pursue the affected claims under the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of immunity.
Labour lawmaker and former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told The Guardian she hoped the Supreme Court would reverse the decision. Civil claims can bring accountability and changes in how authorities handle abuse cases, she said. Phillips and Conservative lawmaker Sir Andrew Mitchell have supported a proposed limit on immunity for certain police conduct during criminal case preparation.
During an Oct. 13 parliamentary debate on the proposal, known as new clause 22, Minister for Courts and Legal Services Sarah Sackman said the government would consider the Supreme Court’s decision before responding fully on police accountability. The appeal hearing is scheduled to continue Oct. 22.
