We won. Thank you.

Dear supporters,

I want to start with the words I have been waiting years to write to you:

We won.

One month before our High Court hearing, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office caved in and conceded every ground in our judicial review. In full. In writing.

None of this would have happened without you.

What you made possible

When you backed this case, you were not just funding legal costs. You were funding the first serious challenge in decades to the way judicial misconduct is investigated in this country.

Because of you, the JCIO has now:

• Admitted they got the law wrong.
• Agreed that every complaint against Judge Lancaster will be reinvestigated.
• Agreed to pay our legal costs.
• Confirmed, for the first time, that bullying during "case management" is misconduct.

That last point is the one that will outlast this case. For decades, the JCIO had a single answer to anyone complaining about a judge's conduct: "That's case management. We can't touch it." A judge could shout at you, intimidate you, denigrate you — and if it happened during a hearing, the regulator walked away.

That shield is gone. Not just for me. Not just for Dr Toheed. For every person who walks into an Employment Tribunal in this country, and for every person who ever lodges a complaint about a judge.

You did that.

How we got here

First, we believe that Judge Barry Clarke, President of the Employment Tribunals, failed us. Dr Hinaa Toheed and I warned him personally that a serious pattern was emerging around Employment Judge Philip Lancaster. I urged him not to let it fester. He did nothing for four years. When I tried to submit my own complaint, he blocked it — refusing to accept I had been too ill to meet the three-month deadline, despite medical evidence from two GPs.

Then the JCIO failed us. Every time another complaint came in, they hid behind the "case management" shield and refused to investigate. The "unblemished record" Clarke leaned on when finally forced to sanction Lancaster was a fiction the JCIO had spent seven years protecting.

Two regulators. One judge. Seven years of failure.

So — with your help — we took the JCIO to the High Court. And a month before the hearing, they folded.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7460272328397168640/

Let me be honest about what that concession is, and isn't. Backing down a month before a High Court judge was going to make them answer in open court is not accountability. It is damage control. But damage control still moves the law. And the law has now moved.

Why this fight is not over

I am writing to you today both to thank you, and to be straight with you: we are not done.

Three things still need to happen, and your continued support is what will get us there.

1. Judge Lancaster still needs to be properly investigated. The concession means his complaints will be looked at again — but we have to make sure that reinvestigation is genuine, thorough, and looks at the cumulative pattern, not isolated incidents.
2. Judge Clarke still needs to answer for what he knew and when. The public is entitled to know what complaints were raised with him over the years, and why he failed to act.
3. The court record must be released. Here is something that should continue to shock you. Many of our hearings were not recorded. There is no audio. The Justice Secretary has confirmed that in those circumstances, the judge's handwritten notes are the official court record. Judge Lancaster has refused to release them. The judge accused of misconduct is sitting on the only official record of what happened in his own courtroom. We are fighting to change that — for me, and for everyone who comes after.

What I want you to know

If you can share this update with others who might care it would mean a great deal.

With deep gratitude,

Alison McDermott
Dr Hinaa Toheed
Whistleblower advocates and lead claimant in the judicial review against the JCIO.

A Landmark Step Forward —The High Court has Granted Permission on All Grounds!

This is the moment we've been fighting towards for years:

✅ The High Court has ruled that all six of our legal grounds are arguable and must go to a final judicial review hearing.

✅ Most cases fail at this stage. We cleared the hurdle for every ground. That's rare.

✅ It means the High Court believes every part of this case deserves full scrutiny.

✅ The High Court was clear about both the seriousness and the urgency of this case.

✅ This is not the final win, but it is a major breakthrough — the Court has said these issues are serious, credible, and must be tested properly in open court.

Why This Is Huge

Judicial review has two stages:

Stage 1 — Permission ( ✅Achieved). Only 15–20% of cases make it this far.

Stage 2 — Full Hearing (still to come). This is where the final decision on our case will be made.

What This Ruling Has Already Delivered

✅ Permission granted on all six grounds — every argument survives and goes forward. The judge confirmed that each ground is arguable, has merit, and that they interlink.

✅ Delay tactics shut down — the JCIO's attempt to stall the case was refused. The judge noted that the underlying issues "relate to events that date back 4.5 years" and that "further delay is undesirable."

✅ Cost protection secured — we are not exposed to financially ruinous risk by continuing with the case.

✅ Public importance recognised — the High Court confirmed this case raises issues that must be resolved authoritatively.

These are not symbolic points. They are concrete legal wins that enable us to proceed with this important case.

Judge Lancaster Has Also Been Sanctioned for Misconduct

On the same day that permission was granted for the case to proceed, Employment Judge Lancaster was formally sanctioned for misconduct in Dr Toheed’s case.

That alone is significant. However, the sanction was reduced because decision-makers were told the judge had a "20-year unblemished conduct record." This is galling when we are aware of multiple complaints against Judge Lancaster spanning at least seven years.

Action only after we went to court

For 3.5 years, nothing happened. Disciplinary action followed only after we issued judicial review proceedings and forced the JCIO's handling of our complaints into the High Court spotlight. The timing speaks for itself.

Why We Still Need Your Support

We've raised £27,000 — thank you so much for all of your support to date. This has enabled us to pay our Court fees and some of our reduced legal fees to reach this stage. However, we need a minimum of £50,000 to reach the final hearing.

It is only your support that will keep the case moving.

Why This Goes Beyond Us

This case now has the potential to clarify, in law, how complaints against judges must be handled.

That affects everyone who relies on the Court system.

Please Help Us Finish This

We've broken through the hardest barrier. We've forced the case into open court. Now we need to see it through.

Please: • Share this update • Donate if you can • Tell others who care about justice and accountability

Dear Supporters,

We are really pleased to update you that our case against the JCIO has been issued at Court! This means the High Court has formally accepted the claim and the JCIO must now respond.

The JCIO has since confirmed they are intending to defend the claim which is troubling because:

🔴 The President’s Office and the JCIO were aware of the concerns about Judge Lancaster for many years — yet did nothing.
🔴 Both Dr Hinaa Toheed & Alison McDermott made complaints in early 2022, raising very similar allegations of bullying, hostility and unfair treatment.
🔴 Other serious complaints pre-dated and post-dated these, showing an overlap of identical behaviour.
🔴 No action was taken — until we issued High Court proceedings.

The President’s Role in Relation to the Complaints
We also now understand — from disclosures made only because of this judicial review — that the President of Employment Tribunals, Judge Barry Clarke, has recommended that Judge Lancaster should be sanctioned for misconduct in respect of Dr Toheed’s complaint. Three years after he was first notified of the concerns..

We say: Too little. Too late.
We are not going to court because of one judge’s misconduct, but because senior judges and officials shielded him for years, exposing others to harm and failing the public. And they are still refusing to take our complaints seriously.

The JCIO are arguing that this claim is not in the public interest – we strongly disagree.

The Public Interest at Stake
This case is no longer about one individual.
It is about an entire system that protected him.
This mirrors what Harriet Harman KC MP found in her 2025 Review: a “culture of impunity” where complaints about certain judges simply go nowhere.

If we win, it will be a landmark moment — finally forcing accountability and protecting the thousands of Employment Tribunal users who rely on a fair and respectful court.

As Ever We Need Your Help to Move This Forward
The JCIO is defending this claim using unlimited public funds.
We rely entirely on the generosity of our supporters.

If you can donate, share, or ask three people to support this page, it moves us closer to getting this case to a final hearing, exposing the truth and securing real accountability.

Thank you — sincerely

Alison & Hinaa

Dear Supporters,

Thank you so much for backing us so far. Your support has been incredible and has brought us to the brink of getting this case into court.

But due to the massive imbalance of power and resources, we need further help to cross the finish line.

NB WE DO NOT STAND TO FINANCIALLY GAIN FROM THIS. OUR CHANCE AT JUSTICE HAS BEEN LOST FOREVER. WE ARE DOING THIS TO PROTECT OTHERS AND EXPOSE AN EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL SYSTEM THAT HAS FAILED TOO MANY.

HOLDING JUDGES ACCOUNTABLE: WHY THIS CASE MATTERS

In September 2025, Baroness Harriet Harman KC published a damning report on judicial misconduct. Her report concluded there is a "cohort of untouchables" amongst the judiciary and  "particular judges who are widely known for making everyone's lives a misery."

"The problem is the culture of impunity for those at the top who commit misconduct. Those in powerful positions whether at the Bar or in the judiciary who choose to engage in bullying, harassment or sexual harassment can be pretty confident that nothing will be done about it. And that is what must change.  Baroness Harriet Harman KC, September 2025

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING TO EXPOSE AND CHANGE

Our judicial review challenges the President of the ET and the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office's (JCIO) repeated failure to properly investigate serious judicial misconduct. 

We are taking a stand to protect the 35,000+ employment tribunal users who deserve fair treatment—not abuse of power.

But we need your urgent help to get this case into court.

WHERE WE ARE:

✅ September 2025: We issued our Letter Before Action to the JCIO

❌ 8 October: Their deadline to respond under the pre-action protocol - they missed it.  We waited another week. They missed that too.

⚖️ Early November: Our deadline to file at court or lose our right to bring these proceedings

WHAT'S HAPPENING:

The JCIO said they will not respond until 20 October, leaving us barely 2 weeks to review it and file our claim.

I am sure they are hoping we'll run out of time or money.

WE'RE NOT BACKING DOWN

Our superb legal team at Deighton Pierce Glynn is continuing to prepare the claim.

We will file on time. We will not be intimidated.

But here's the reality:

We need more funds. 

• They have: unlimited taxpayer funding and government lawyers.
• We have: just crowdfunding, the evidence, the truth, and you.

 We've come so far:

• ✅ Built the legal case
• ✅ Assembled the dream legal team
• ✅ Issued the Letter Before Action
• ✅ Gathered overwhelming evidence
• ✅ Raised over £16,000

We cannot let them win by simply outlasting us financially.

Not when we're this close.

WHY WE URGENTLY NEED MORE FUNDS:

Thanks to you, we've raised £16,298—incredible progress!

But we need £40,000 IN TOTAL to see this through to the end.

Our legal team has already slashed their fees dramatically—but even at reduced rates, this fight is expensive. 

Without reaching our target, we risk having to abandon this fight at the final hurdle after coming so far.

IF WE WIN THIS JUDICIAL REVIEW:

✅ The JCIO will be forced to properly investigate judicial misconduct 

✅ 35,000+ tribunal users per year will be better protected

✅ Judges who egregiously abuse their power will face consequences

✅ Whistleblowers will be better protected 

This is far bigger than just Judge Lancaster. This is about fixing the system and ensuring all judges are held accountable.

CAN YOU HELP US FINISH THIS?

You've already shown you believe in this fight. Thank you so much. Now we're wondering:

👉 Can you kindly consider an additional donation? Every extra donation helps when we're this close

👉 Can you share this widely? Forward to friends, family, colleagues, post on social media

👉 Can you ask 3 people to donate? Your personal recommendation means everything

DONATE

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/exposing-judge-lancaster/

We're so close to getting into court and exposing this scandal.

Don't let them win by exhausting our funds.

Thank you for standing with us.

Alison & Hinaa (on behalf of the group action)

Thank you for your overwhelming support. 
We have now sent a Letter Before Claim to the JCIO.

Please click on the link below to see the letter and Dr Hinaa Toheed's video thanking all of our supporters

https://drchrisday.co.uk/letter-before-claim-against-judicial-conduct-investigation-office-dated-17-september-2025/

We are so grateful for your financial support. We can't do this without you

Alison