How do you report a case that was settled out of court? Maria Strauss, an Associate at Farrer & Co, has kindly provided the following guest post on an interesting case that didn’t quite come to court…

Background

Religious discrimination featured in the press last week when it was reported in the Telegraph that Mr Amrik Bilkhu, a Sikh criminal defence solicitor, had secured compensation against the Ministry of Justice. The reports on the dispute summarise the facts as follows. Mr Bilkhu attended at HMP Belmarsh in October 2013 to visit a client and was reportedly refused entry on the grounds that his turban was held together by four pins. Mr Bilkhu issued proceedings in the County Court for religious discrimination and the claim was settled with an undisclosed payment of compensation and legal costs. There is no reported judgment on the case because it was settled before the final hearing that had been listed to be heard in May 2014. Continue reading →