MEET:
Clare Wisson
“Clare Wisson has a sharp legal mind. Her legal advice is outstanding and includes real commercial insights which clients value."
Chambers & Partners, 2024, Defamation & Privacy
Clare practises in all aspects of media and information law, acting for both claimants and defendants. She is ranked for Defamation/Privacy by both Chambers & Partners (Band 4, 2026) and Legal 500 (Band 4, 2026). She is also ranked by Chambers & Partners for Data Protection (‘Up & Coming’, 2026).
Clare’s clients include national newspapers and broadcasters, leading publishing houses, NGOs, charities, private companies and individuals. She has appeared in the Court of Appeal (led), High Court (led and unled), County Court, Crown Court, First-Tier Tribunal and Coroner’s Court. Clare has experience of libel and harassment trials, complex interlocutory hearings, and urgent injunction applications. She has challenged ICO decision notices and reporting restriction orders on behalf of national media organisations.
Clare has significant experience of providing pre-publication legal and regulatory advice to both print and broadcast media, having been seconded to Channel 5 and worked as a regular duty lawyer at The BBC, The Times, The Sun, The Guardian and Jewish News.
Clare is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s preferred panel of counsel. In appropriate cases, Clare can be instructed under the Bar’s Direct Access Scheme.
Mohamad Hegab v (1) The Spectator (1828) Ltd & (2) Douglas Murray [2025] EWHC 2043 (KB) – junior counsel for C in a four-day libel trial heard on 14-17 July 2025 by Johnson J.
Wei & Ors v Long [2025] EWHC 912 (KB) – represented Cs in disposal proceedings following default judgment. Obtained libel and harassment damages awards of £150,000 for three claimants.
Ranaie v Warland (KB-2024-000692) – represented D in a preliminary issue trial to determine meaning, conducted on the papers (awaiting judgment).
Lowde v Guardian News Group (Central London County Court) (2024) – represented D in a successful strike out application.
Prospect v Evans (KB-2024-000030) – represented C in two contested interlocutory hearings.
Fraser v NWK (KB-2023-000087) – represented C in a libel claim with publication in England and Scotland from initial advice through to settlement.
Thompson v Budden & The British Kendo Association (KB-2023-001434) (2023) – successfully applied to strike out a libel claim in its entirety (for D1).
Millett v Corbyn [2021] EMLR 19 – appeal by the former Leader of the Labour Party against decisions made at the trial of preliminary issues (judicial assistant to Warby LJ).
DRP v Persons Unknown (High Court) (2023) – secured interim injunctive relief for misuse of private information, after intimate photographs of DRP were published on social media (for C).
Titheradge v Information Commissioner [2023] UKFTT 446 (GRC) & [2023] UKFTT 447 (GRC) – represented an award-winning investigative BBC reporter in two appeals seeking Body Worn Video footage from Merseyside Police and British Transport Police (here).
A Child v Associate Newspapers Ltd (2023) – drafted an infant settlement advice for a Part 8 misuse of private information claim.
Phone hacking litigation (2021 – 2022) – acted (as a member of a large counsel team) for Mirror Group Newspapers in claims brought by numerous celebrities and other individuals relating to allegations of phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering activities.
Fernie v Burton Waters Management Ltd and Banks Long & Co (County Court) (2022) – successfully applied to strike out a claim for negligence, breach of the UK GDPR, and misuse of private information brought by a litigant-in-person (for D2).
Warren v DSG Retail Ltd [2021] EWHC 2168 (QB) – appeared in the High Court (unled) resisting a strike out application for a claim for misuse of private information and negligence (for C).
British Gymnastics (2021) – instructed on behalf of British Gymnastics in the context of the Whyte Review to assist with a large scale disclosure exercise raising data protection issues.
KEJ v The Chief Constable of X Police & the CPS (County Court) (2021-2022) – successfully represented C in a breach of confidence and data protection claim for breaching her lifelong anonymity as a survivor of ‘stranger rape’ and disclosing her identity to the perpetrator (settled).
Clare is regularly instructed by media organisations and production companies to obtain access to documents and/or challenge reporting restrictions or anonymity orders across a variety of courts. Some select examples are given below:
- R v Wandelt & Spragg (Leicester Crown Court) (2025) – acted for media (Associated Newspapers, BBC, Guardian, ITN, New Group Newspapers, Reach, Telegraph and The Times) to successfully oppose a s.4(2) application to postpone reporting until the end of the trial of two women charged with stalking the family of Madeline McCann (e.g. here, here and here).
- R v Zulqurnean & Ors (Bedford Crown Court) (2025) – instructed by The Times to vary a s.4(2) order permitting the names of eight men convicted of raping and indecently assaulting a child victim (e.g. here).
- Advised a production company on a disclosure order for journalistic material made by the Court of Protection following a without notice application (2025).
- Pearson inquest (Bolton Coroner’s Court) (2025) – acted for the BBC to successfully challenge an IP’s public interest immunity application.
- R v Rickards (Canterbury Crown Court) (2025) – acted for the BBC to successfully apply for access to court documents for use in contemporaneous court reporting (e.g. here).
- R v Snook et al (Bristol Crown Court) (2024) – acted for media (ITN, BBC, Sky, and ITV Regional News) to lift a reporting restriction in order to name a teenager convicted of killing two 15 year old best friends in a case of mistaken identity. Press coverage here, here, here and here.
- R v Bateman (Cardiff Crown Court) (2023) – successfully applied to vary a s.45 YJCEA reporting restriction order to enable BBC Wales to publish an interview with the mother of a baby assaulted by her partner (e.g. here).
- Sampson & Malcahy (Maidstone Coroner’s Court) (2023) – Counsel for the media (BBC & PA Media Group) for an application challenging an anonymity order.
- LM, AW & Ors v Ministry of Justice, Secretary of State for Justice and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (Central London County Court) (2020) – successfully represented the Claimants in a contested anonymity application.
Rodgers v Brookes (Manchester County Court). Successfully represented C in three-day harassment trial in April 2025. The course of conduct included anonymous abusive and grossly offensive messages sent via a business website. C was awarded £15,000 in damages and costs on the indemnity basis. Judgment here.
Davies v Carter [2021] EWHC 3021 (QB) – instructed by C on a direct access to draft witness basis statements in a harassment by publication claim. Trial counsel relied upon the statements to obtain damages and a permanent injunction.
Editor: Atkins, vol 16 on Defamation (forthcoming), with Jonathan Price KC, Nikila Kaushik and Percy Preston.
Author: “Police Misconduct: legal remedies” (Legal Action Group, 2022). Co-authored the Chapter on ‘The police, information rights and data protection’ with Steven Cragg KC (here).
Speaker: “Data and Policing” panel, Public Law Project’s ‘Data law for public lawyers, Public law for data lawyers’ Conference (May 2022).
Speaker: “Journalists, police and their interaction in the public space”, Media Law Resource Centre International Committee (July 2020).
Assistant editor (2020-2023) and headnote writer (2017-2020): European Human Rights Reports (Sweet & Maxwell) (here).
July 2021 – October 2022: seconded part-time to Channel 5 and provided advice on pre-broadcast issues and Ofcom complaints.
Hilary Term 2021: Full-time judicial assistant in the High Court. Clare assisted Mr Justice Chamberlain and other High Court judges and masters with a wide range of public, media and international law matters, both procedural and substantive.
October – December 2020: seconded full-time to RPC’s media team.
Bar Professional Training Course (BPP University) – Outstanding
Graduate Diploma in Law (City University) – Distinction (8th in year)
MSc in Human Rights (London School of Economics) –Distinction (top 5 in year)
BA in Modern History and Politics (Oxford University) – 2.1
Clare is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to their clients, including advice and representation services, Clare needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes their client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which they are instructed. To read Clare’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
“Her knowledge of data protection is excellent. She is brilliant.”
“She is extremely thorough, well prepared, and can put forward complex arguments clearly. She is a pleasure to work with.”
“Clare is a superb defamation barrister. She is an impressive advocate.”
“She is incredibly collegiate, proactive and engaged."
"Clare is a really, really good operator. She is extremely competent with drafting skills, personable and client-friendly."
“A modern and engaging practitioner with a pragmatic and positive outlook. Clare is a future star.”
"Clare Wisson has a sharp legal mind. Her legal advice is outstanding and includes real commercial insights which clients value."
"Clare is even-handed, knowledgeable and to the point. She is fun to work with and a real problem solver."
“Very user friendly, impresses clients and able to get stuck into a case. Advice is sensible and well-considered.”
+44 (0)20 7404 3447
“Clare Wisson has a sharp legal mind. Her legal advice is outstanding and includes real commercial insights which clients value."
Chambers & Partners, 2024, Defamation & Privacy
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE
- Civil Liberties and Human Rights
- Court Orders affecting the Media
- Data Protection
- Defamation and Privacy
- Harassment
- Media and Information Law
- Public Law: Information, Data and Privacy
Clare Wisson
Contact Clare: clarewisson@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447
Contact Clare's Practice Team (Team M): TeamM@matrixlaw.co.uk
Clare practises in all aspects of media and information law, acting for both claimants and defendants. She is ranked for Defamation/Privacy by both Chambers & Partners (Band 4, 2026) and Legal 500 (Band 4, 2026). She is also ranked by Chambers & Partners for Data Protection (‘Up & Coming’, 2026).
Clare’s clients include national newspapers and broadcasters, leading publishing houses, NGOs, charities, private companies and individuals. She has appeared in the Court of Appeal (led), High Court (led and unled), County Court, Crown Court, First-Tier Tribunal and Coroner’s Court. Clare has experience of libel and harassment trials, complex interlocutory hearings, and urgent injunction applications. She has challenged ICO decision notices and reporting restriction orders on behalf of national media organisations.
Clare has significant experience of providing pre-publication legal and regulatory advice to both print and broadcast media, having been seconded to Channel 5 and worked as a regular duty lawyer at The BBC, The Times, The Sun, The Guardian and Jewish News.
Clare is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s preferred panel of counsel. In appropriate cases, Clare can be instructed under the Bar’s Direct Access Scheme.
Defamation
Mohamad Hegab v (1) The Spectator (1828) Ltd & (2) Douglas Murray [2025] EWHC 2043 (KB) – junior counsel for C in a four-day libel trial heard on 14-17 July 2025 by Johnson J.
Wei & Ors v Long [2025] EWHC 912 (KB) – represented Cs in disposal proceedings following default judgment. Obtained libel and harassment damages awards of £150,000 for three claimants.
Ranaie v Warland (KB-2024-000692) – represented D in a preliminary issue trial to determine meaning, conducted on the papers (awaiting judgment).
Lowde v Guardian News Group (Central London County Court) (2024) – represented D in a successful strike out application.
Prospect v Evans (KB-2024-000030) – represented C in two contested interlocutory hearings.
Fraser v NWK (KB-2023-000087) – represented C in a libel claim with publication in England and Scotland from initial advice through to settlement.
Thompson v Budden & The British Kendo Association (KB-2023-001434) (2023) – successfully applied to strike out a libel claim in its entirety (for D1).
Millett v Corbyn [2021] EMLR 19 – appeal by the former Leader of the Labour Party against decisions made at the trial of preliminary issues (judicial assistant to Warby LJ).
Privacy, data protection and freedom of information
DRP v Persons Unknown (High Court) (2023) – secured interim injunctive relief for misuse of private information, after intimate photographs of DRP were published on social media (for C).
Titheradge v Information Commissioner [2023] UKFTT 446 (GRC) & [2023] UKFTT 447 (GRC) – represented an award-winning investigative BBC reporter in two appeals seeking Body Worn Video footage from Merseyside Police and British Transport Police (here).
A Child v Associate Newspapers Ltd (2023) – drafted an infant settlement advice for a Part 8 misuse of private information claim.
Phone hacking litigation (2021 – 2022) – acted (as a member of a large counsel team) for Mirror Group Newspapers in claims brought by numerous celebrities and other individuals relating to allegations of phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering activities.
Fernie v Burton Waters Management Ltd and Banks Long & Co (County Court) (2022) – successfully applied to strike out a claim for negligence, breach of the UK GDPR, and misuse of private information brought by a litigant-in-person (for D2).
Warren v DSG Retail Ltd [2021] EWHC 2168 (QB) – appeared in the High Court (unled) resisting a strike out application for a claim for misuse of private information and negligence (for C).
British Gymnastics (2021) – instructed on behalf of British Gymnastics in the context of the Whyte Review to assist with a large scale disclosure exercise raising data protection issues.
KEJ v The Chief Constable of X Police & the CPS (County Court) (2021-2022) – successfully represented C in a breach of confidence and data protection claim for breaching her lifelong anonymity as a survivor of ‘stranger rape’ and disclosing her identity to the perpetrator (settled).
Open justice and reporting restrictions
Clare is regularly instructed by media organisations and production companies to obtain access to documents and/or challenge reporting restrictions or anonymity orders across a variety of courts. Some select examples are given below:
- R v Wandelt & Spragg (Leicester Crown Court) (2025) – acted for media (Associated Newspapers, BBC, Guardian, ITN, New Group Newspapers, Reach, Telegraph and The Times) to successfully oppose a s.4(2) application to postpone reporting until the end of the trial of two women charged with stalking the family of Madeline McCann (e.g. here, here and here).
- R v Zulqurnean & Ors (Bedford Crown Court) (2025) – instructed by The Times to vary a s.4(2) order permitting the names of eight men convicted of raping and indecently assaulting a child victim (e.g. here).
- Advised a production company on a disclosure order for journalistic material made by the Court of Protection following a without notice application (2025).
- Pearson inquest (Bolton Coroner’s Court) (2025) – acted for the BBC to successfully challenge an IP’s public interest immunity application.
- R v Rickards (Canterbury Crown Court) (2025) – acted for the BBC to successfully apply for access to court documents for use in contemporaneous court reporting (e.g. here).
- R v Snook et al (Bristol Crown Court) (2024) – acted for media (ITN, BBC, Sky, and ITV Regional News) to lift a reporting restriction in order to name a teenager convicted of killing two 15 year old best friends in a case of mistaken identity. Press coverage here, here, here and here.
- R v Bateman (Cardiff Crown Court) (2023) – successfully applied to vary a s.45 YJCEA reporting restriction order to enable BBC Wales to publish an interview with the mother of a baby assaulted by her partner (e.g. here).
- Sampson & Malcahy (Maidstone Coroner’s Court) (2023) – Counsel for the media (BBC & PA Media Group) for an application challenging an anonymity order.
- LM, AW & Ors v Ministry of Justice, Secretary of State for Justice and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (Central London County Court) (2020) – successfully represented the Claimants in a contested anonymity application.
Harassment
Rodgers v Brookes (Manchester County Court). Successfully represented C in three-day harassment trial in April 2025. The course of conduct included anonymous abusive and grossly offensive messages sent via a business website. C was awarded £15,000 in damages and costs on the indemnity basis. Judgment here.
Davies v Carter [2021] EWHC 3021 (QB) – instructed by C on a direct access to draft witness basis statements in a harassment by publication claim. Trial counsel relied upon the statements to obtain damages and a permanent injunction.
Select Publications and Seminars
Editor: Atkins, vol 16 on Defamation (forthcoming), with Jonathan Price KC, Nikila Kaushik and Percy Preston.
Author: “Police Misconduct: legal remedies” (Legal Action Group, 2022). Co-authored the Chapter on ‘The police, information rights and data protection’ with Steven Cragg KC (here).
Speaker: “Data and Policing” panel, Public Law Project’s ‘Data law for public lawyers, Public law for data lawyers’ Conference (May 2022).
Speaker: “Journalists, police and their interaction in the public space”, Media Law Resource Centre International Committee (July 2020).
Assistant editor (2020-2023) and headnote writer (2017-2020): European Human Rights Reports (Sweet & Maxwell) (here).
Secondments
July 2021 – October 2022: seconded part-time to Channel 5 and provided advice on pre-broadcast issues and Ofcom complaints.
Hilary Term 2021: Full-time judicial assistant in the High Court. Clare assisted Mr Justice Chamberlain and other High Court judges and masters with a wide range of public, media and international law matters, both procedural and substantive.
October – December 2020: seconded full-time to RPC’s media team.
Education
Bar Professional Training Course (BPP University) – Outstanding
Graduate Diploma in Law (City University) – Distinction (8th in year)
MSc in Human Rights (London School of Economics) –Distinction (top 5 in year)
BA in Modern History and Politics (Oxford University) – 2.1
Clare's Privacy Notice
Clare is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to her clients, including advice and representation services, she needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes her client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matters in respect of which she is instructed. To view Clare’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATIONS
“Her knowledge of data protection is excellent. She is brilliant.”
“She is extremely thorough, well prepared, and can put forward complex arguments clearly. She is a pleasure to work with.”
“Clare is a superb defamation barrister. She is an impressive advocate.”
“She is incredibly collegiate, proactive and engaged."
"Clare is a really, really good operator. She is extremely competent with drafting skills, personable and client-friendly."
“A modern and engaging practitioner with a pragmatic and positive outlook. Clare is a future star.”
"Clare Wisson has a sharp legal mind. Her legal advice is outstanding and includes real commercial insights which clients value."
"Clare is even-handed, knowledgeable and to the point. She is fun to work with and a real problem solver."
“Very user friendly, impresses clients and able to get stuck into a case. Advice is sensible and well-considered.”