“Pragmatically, Ms McGahey submits that, while strictly speaking, I could disagree with the SSHD's conclusion as to Condition A, but nonetheless find that her conclusion was one to which she was entitled to come, she does not seek to rely on such an argument here. On that basis, I shall take the same course as Mitting J. and examine for myself whether, on the balance of probabilities, each of the Respondents is, or has been, involved in terrorism-related activity.”
“I have noted above, the comments by the parties as to the significance of the nature and timing of involvement in TRA for the purposes of Conditions C and D. I have borne these in mind. However, since those two Conditions are concerned with the necessity (and proportionality) of either a TPIM in principle, the whole package of measures or the individual measures, they are not questions of objective fact and, as I have said they are not decisions as to which, even on the basis of the comments in the Court of Appeal in MB, I am required to come to my own conclusion. So far as they are concerned, the issue is whether the SSHD was entitled (on familiar public law principles) to come to the conclusions she did.”
“The local authority considers that at the relevant date the children were likely to suffer significant emotional and psychological harm as a consequence of their likely future exposure to radical views justifying and supporting violence towards non-Muslims, acts of terror and the proscribed organisation, ISIS.”
“In undertaking this work, certain similarities or patterns of behaviour have started to emerge which link some of the cases together over and above obvious connections such as the fathers being co-defendants and an association to the prescribed organisation, Al-Muhajiroun. The patterns of behaviour inform aspects of the local authority’s response to these cases.”
“From what I have seen the children in this case do not appear to have much interest in religious and political issues. They have more interest in cartoon characters and some interest in the cultural/heritage side of Islam…from an examination of their books the mother has focused on Islamic core beliefs, culture and heritage. I think that is the right approach at their age.”
“The second fundamentally important point is the need to link the facts relied upon by the local authority with its case on threshold, the need to demonstrate why, as the local authority asserts, facts A + B + C justify the conclusion that the child has suffered, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm of types X, Y or Z. Sometimes the linkage will be obvious, as where the facts proved establish physical harm. But the linkage may be very much less obvious where the allegation is only that the child is at risk of suffering emotional harm or, as in the present case, at risk of suffering neglect. In the present case, as we shall see, an important element of the local authority's case was that the father "lacks honesty with professionals", "minimises matters of importance" and "is immature and lacks insight of issues of importance". May be. But how does this feed through into a conclusion that A is at risk of neglect? The conclusion does not follow naturally from the premise. The local authority's evidence and submissions must set out the argument and explain explicitly why it is said that, in the particular case, the conclusion indeed follows from the facts.”