Darryl Hutcheon

Contact Darryl: darrylhutcheon@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447

Contact Darryl's Practice Team (Team M): TeamM@matrixlaw.co.uk

Darryl’s practice spans employment law, discrimination law, public law, civil claims against public authorities and privacy & data protection claims. He has built a reputation in cases which test legal boundaries in relation to the rights of workers and working-class people. In 2025, those cases have included two landmark employment judgments about the lawfulness of mandatory retirement policies and the protection of civil servants who whistle-blow to the media, and the English courts’ first ever reference to the European Court of Justice under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, in a judicial review claim about victims of domestic abuse and Universal Credit.

Employment and Discrimination

Darryl acts in the full range of tribunal, High Court and appellate employment litigation, both led and unled. He is regularly instructed in strategic group litigation, often supported by leading UK trade unions. He has particular expertise in employment cases which raise conflict of laws, freedom of expression and other human rights issues, open justice and privacy issues.

Darryl’s current caseload includes holiday pay claims brought by thousands of term-time only school and college staff against local authorities and outsourcing companies across the UK; several age discrimination claims against professional service firms relying on the principles established in Scott v Walker Morris (in which Darryl acted for the successful claimant, see below); discrimination claims against multiple branches of the British military; trade union-supported group claims involving mass “fire and rehire” dismissals; and claims by executives against leading global banks, law firms and technology companies.

Recent notable decisions in employment cases in which Darryl is involved include:

• BCA Logistics Ltd v Parker [2025] IRLR 721: appeal on proper approach to adverse inferences where employer fails to call key witnesses (in “worker status” litigation involving more than 1,000 claimants).
• Rainwood v Pemberton Capital Advisers LLP [2025] EAT 51: considering the relationship between statutory whistleblowing protections and legal professional privilege in claim brought by in-house lawyer.
• Scott v Walker Morris [2025]: landmark ET decision finding leading law firm maintained discriminatory and unlawful mandatory retirement policy.
• Stewart v Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office [2025]: ET decision establishing circumstances in which a civil servant could lawfully make “protected disclosures” to national media (in case relating to the UK withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021).
• Adams v Porotech [2025]: ET trial of whistleblowing and victimisation claim by senior executive working in Cambridge tech start-up.
• P v Q [2024]: open justice restrictions in tribunal claim involving salacious allegations brought by housekeeper against famous family.
• Evrythng Ltd v Gilbert-Rolfe [2023] IRLR 280: refusal of interim injunctions sought against senior employee accused of breaching restrictive covenants and confidentiality duties.
• Lloyd v Elmhurst School Ltd [2023] ICR 644: appeal raising novel issues about the application of national minimum wage legislation to teaching assistants.
• Chaudhry v Cerberus Service Security and Monitoring Services Ltd [2022] EAT 172: guidance on checklist approach to amendment applications.
• Arian v Spitalfields Practice [2022] EAT 67: appeal on significance of delay in granting or refusing amendment applications.

Darryl is frequently instructed in discrimination cases in both the employment tribunal and the civil courts. His current and recent non-employment discrimination cases include BZ, Ingold, BK, TP, Q v Met Police and C v British Transport Police (see further under “Judicial Review” and “Claims Against Public Authorities”).

Judicial Review

Darryl has an equally active public law practice, again regularly working led and unled. He is often instructed in cases relating to welfare/social security; terrorism and national security; education; prisons; and policing and criminal justice. His cases frequently raise human rights, discrimination, open justice and data/privacy issues and involve challenges to policies or practices which are applied to large numbers of people.

Ongoing/recent cases include:

• R (X) v University (ongoing): case relating to the requirements of new statutory duties on higher education institutions to secure and defend academic freedom, in context of restrictions imposed by a British university on a senior academic researching sensitive human rights issues in a foreign state.
• R (BXY) v Director of Public Prosecutions (issued 2025, ongoing): case relating to correctness of CPS interpretation of law on sexual offences as it applies to sexual activity with unconscious persons.
• R (C) v Secretary of State for Justice (issued 2025, ongoing): case relating to lawfulness of national and local prison policies regarding the use of X-Ray Body Scanners in the prison estate.
• R (W) v Secretary of State for Justice (issued 2025, ongoing): case relating to draconian post-release licence conditions applied to a person convicted of offence related to a climate protest.
• R (BZ) v SSWP & SSHD [2025] EWHC 1814 (Admin) (ongoing): case relating to the exclusion of some migrant victims of domestic abuse, who are lawfully resident under Appendix EU, from access to Universal Credit and accelerated routes to more secure status. The High Court has made a reference to the Court of Justice under Article 158 of the Withdrawal Agreement for clarity on the meaning of provisions in Title II WA which address the retained rights of those who come to the UK as dependants of EU nationals.
• R (IS Bangladesh) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3353 (Admin) (ongoing): claim alleging breaches of the article 3 ECHR systems duty in the treatment of severely mentally ill detainees at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre.
• SSHD v QX [2025] AC 995: Supreme Court finds that article 6 ECHR disclosure guarantees apply to claims challenging the imposition of terrorism-related Temporary Exclusion Orders under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.
• R (Bui & Onakoya) v SSWP [2024] PTSR 162: Court of Appeal finds SSWP approach to making of Universal Credit advance payments to migrant claimants without national insurance numbers is unlawful.
• R (Ingold) v SSWP [2024] 4 WLR 14: case relating to failures of Child Maintenance Service to collect child maintenance payments under the Child Support Act 1991.
• R (BK) v SSWP [2023] 1 WLR 3363: case relating to treatment of victims of domestic abuse seeking urgent access to Universal Credit.
• R (Social Enterprise UK) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2023]: judicial review claim challenging decision not to fund independent NHS providers to provide bonus payments matching those paid to directly employed NHS staff.
• R (MM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023]: judicial review claim challenging shortening of eviction periods for asylum seekers living in asylum accommodation who are granted refugee status.
• R (TP, AB, F & ors) v SSWP [2022] PTSR 1092: High Court finds that the rules governing migration of severely disabled claimants from legacy benefits to Universal Credit is unlawful.
• R (Newsquest Media Group) v Police Misconduct Tribunal [2022] EWHC 299 (Admin): case relating to privacy orders made in the context of police misconduct proceedings.

Claims Against Public Authorities and Other Civil Claims

Darryl acts in High Court and County Court civil litigation raising public law and human rights issues. He has particular expertise in civil actions relating to the Human Rights Act 1998, discrimination, data breaches, police and false imprisonment actions and actions relating to prisoners. Current or recent cases include:

• Pegasus spyware privacy actions – claims by exiled political activists against foreign states arising out of the illicit hacking of personal devices using sophisticated Pegasus spyware
• Home Office immigration database data claims – case relating to notorious Home Office database errors in management of personal data of asylum seekers
• Coronation Day Protest claims – unlawful arrest claims brought against Met Police by members of activist group detained on day of King’s Coronation
• Q v Met Police – common law, HRA and Equality Act claims relating to Schedule 7 detention of refugee at Heathrow Airport
• L v Ministry of Justice – claims for unlawful segregation, strip-search and assault arising out of serious unrest at HMP Frankland prison
• XR Covid protest claims – unlawful arrest claims for Parliament Square protesters detained under COVID-era gathering regulations
• H v Ministry of Justice – claims under article 3 ECHR for unlawful use of restraints on severely ill hospitalised prisoner
• MNZ v Essex Police – claims under article 3 ECHR for errors in police investigation relating to serious racially aggravated assault on teenage boy
• C v British Transport Police – claims under HRA and Equality Act relating to arrest, detention and bail conditions imposed on severely deaf and sight impaired claimant
• AHX v London Borough of Hillingdon – claims in negligence and article 3 ECHR relating to grave sexual abuse of girl at local authority run care home
• Murray v Mabrouk – acting for claimant in claim relating to the involvement of Libyan national in the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984
• Richmond v Met Police – acting for claimant, a political activist, assaulted by a Metropolitan Police officer following May Day demonstration
• LFH v Blackpool Borough Council and ors – acting for claimants in action alleging Equality Act and HRA violations in relation to arrangements for large-scale religious festival in Blackpool

Privacy & Data Protection Claims

Darryl regularly advises and appears in cases involving privacy and data protection claims, especially where they overlap with human rights issues, and open justice issues. His recent cases in these domains include the Pegasus spyware cases; representing large numbers of climate protesters affected by the publication of their personal information in connection with injunction proceedings; advising on data breaches arising from the activities of companies involved in constructions of illegal settlements in the West Bank; and cases relating to information published on large “Know Your Client” compliance databases. Darryl also has substantial experience in libel cases.

Education and Background

• BA (Hons) Law, University of Cambridge (2011) – First Class (ranked 3^rd in year group)
• Bachelor of Civil Law, University of Oxford (2012) – Distinction (won the John Morris Prize for best performance in Conflict of Laws; obtained best mark in three out of four courses)
• Eldon Scholar, University of Oxford (2014) – awarded to “the most promising Oxford graduate embarking on a career at the Bar”

Prior to coming to the Bar Darryl worked for the International Labour Organisation, for Ergon Associates (a labour and human rights consultancy based in London) and as a Teaching Fellow in Conflict of Laws at University College London.

Between 2018 and 2019 Darryl took an extended sabbatical from practice and spent a year working in north Africa in refugee advocacy.

Darryl speaks an advanced level of French and conversational Arabic.

Darryl is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to his clients, including advice and representation services, he needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes his client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matters in respect of which he is instructed. To view Darryl’s privacy notice in full, please see here.