John Jolliffe

PSQB Door Tenant, John Jolliffe,  has a wide-ranging public law practice, with a particular focus on inquests and inquiries, regulatory work, and judicial review and statutory appeals. He is a member of the Attorney-General’s A panel of counsel, and works part time as a deputy judge of the Upper Tribunal and of the Court of Protection. He appeared in the Infected Blood Inquiry for government clients including Sir Malcolm Rifkind KC and Lord Forsyth. He is instructed in the Covid-19 Inquiry. Having been a member of the Attorney-General’s panels of counsel for over a decade, he has an unusually wide range of experience, and he prides himself on his ability to work across different areas of legal practice and to get to grips with new law.

John is instructed in a range of inquests, including numerous Article 2 prison inquests with a Coroner and a jury. His inquest clients include HM Prison Service, police forces, NHS trusts and local authorities as well as family members of the deceased. He is used to dealing with vulnerable witnesses and mental health issues. He travels across the country to appear in inquests. Some examples include:

Re Trotman – 3 day jury inquest before Coroner Ian Wade KC instructed by the Metropolitan Police, concerning the death of a suspect while under restraint. Issues included reasonable use of restraint techniques and potential criminal liability.

Re Franks – 4 day jury inquest before Senior Coroner Kevin McLoughlin instructed by HM Prison Service, concerning the death of a prisoner in his cell. Issues included the ACCT (Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork) process and domestic violence.

Re Ansley – 6 day jury inquest before Coroner Fiona King  instructed by a healthcare provider, concerning the death of a prisoner in his cell. Issues included the proper handling of vulnerable prisoners.

John’s public inquiry work has covered some of the most high-profile cases. He has ongoing instructions in the Covid-19 Inquiry acting for the Scotland Office with junior counsel to assist him. He advised and represented various core participants in the Infected Blood Inquiry including the Department for Health and Social Care, the Cabinet Office and the Scotland Office. He was part of the counsel team in the investigation of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party led by Henrietta Hill KC and instructed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

John appears in judicial reviews and statutory appeals before the High Court and Court of Appeal and specialist tribunals. His clients include central government departments, local authorities and government agencies, businesses and individuals. He is instructed to act against KCs as sole counsel or leading counsel. His reported cases include:

Smith v SSJ [2020] EWHC 2712 Admin – (procedural fairness; CART decision making).

UT (Sri Lanka) v SSHD [2019] EWCA Civ 1091 (error of law).

LB Tower Hamlets v SSCLG [2019] EWHC 2219 Admin (enforcement; conservation areas; materiality; NPPF para 196)

Mustafa v Kent CC [2018] EWHC 2021 Admin (statutory housing and support).

Pun (Nepal) v SSHD [2017] EWCA Civ 2106 (ILR; Gurkhas; Article 8).

John’s work has been praised in the legal directories. He has been described as “engaging and authoritative” – “very focused and a bright individual” – “strong on regulatory enforcement matters”.

Deputy Judge of the Upper Tribunal (IAC)

Deputy Judge of the First Tier Tribunal (SEC)

Junior Counsel to the Crown (Panel A) (“Treasury Counsel”) (2018)

Junior Counsel to the Crown (Panel B) (“Treasury Counsel”) (2013-2018)

Junior Counsel to the Crown (Panel C) (“Treasury Counsel”) (2010-2013)

Council member of UKELA (2014-2018).

Member of PEBA, ILPA and Parliamentary Bar Mess

Inns of Court School of Law (BVC)

City University (CPE Diploma in Law)

Trinity College, Dublin (First Class Honours in Classics)