MEET:
Sarah Hannett KC
"Sarah is my go-to barrister. She is knowledgeable, her client service is excellent, and she is extremely pragmatic, realistic and timely."
Chambers & Partners 2024
Sarah practises in all areas of public law and human rights. She has acted in many of the significant public law cases in recent years, including in the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Her cases include For Women Scotland, the challenge to VAT on private school fees (ALR), the ongoing litigation concerning the revocation of same-sex marriage in Bermuda (Ferguson), the approach to non-binary identity (Elan-Cane), same-sex civil partnerships (Steinfeld), the lawfulness of the commission of criminal acts by MI5 agents (Privacy International), human rights claims arising out of undercover policing (Wilson), and the challenge to the release of John Worboys from prison (DSD and NBV).
Sarah is a member of the A-Panel of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Preferred Counsel. Before talking silk, Sarah was a member of the Attorney General’s A panel of counsel.
Sarah is ranked in the directories for public and administrative law, civil liberties and human rights, education, community care, independent investigations and elections. In 2024 and 2025 Sarah was shortlisted for public services and charities silk of the year in the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards. In 2020 Sarah was shortlisted for the Human Rights and Public Law junior of the year in the Chambers Bar UK Awards, and in 2019, she was shortlisted for Public Law Junior of the Year in the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards. Sarah was awarded the Bar Pro Bono award in 2013 for her work on the School Exclusion Project, an organisation that provides pro-bono representation to parents appealing against the permanent exclusion of their child from school.
Recent publications include (as co-author) Blackstone’s Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998 (OUP, 2024) and Special Educational Needs and the Law (LAG, 2017), and as a contributing author, National Security Law, Procedure and Practice (OUP, 2024) and Information Rights (Bloomsbury, 2024). Sarah has published articles on public law and human rights in Public Law, Judicial Review and the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies.
Sarah’s particular areas of expertise include equality law, education, national security, election and regulatory law.
Sarah appears regularly on behalf of claimants (including individuals, commercial organisations and NGOs), local authorities, the Secretary of State, and regulators. She has particular expertise in claims under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010. Sarah often acts as Counsel to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, has been appointed as Advocate to the Court, and appears on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
Sarah has a significant international practice, acting in cases before the European Court of Human Rights. She has also acted in cases concerning Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, Trinidad, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
A full list of cases is here. Recent cases include:
- R (ALR) v. Chancellor of the Exchequer [2025] EWHC 1467 (Admin); [2026] 1 WLR 10: the provisions of the Finance Act 2025 which imposed VAT on private school fees did not breach the ECHR (counsel for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, HMRC and the Secretary of State for Education).
- For Women Scotland Ltd v. Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16; [2025] 2 WLR 879: a person with a gender recognition certificate in the female gender did not come within the definition of “woman” for the purposes of sex discrimination in the Equality Act 2010 (counsel for Amnesty International UK).
- R (ABW) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 3280 (Admin): approach to the imposition of public order disqualification decisions on victims of trafficking unlawful (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- R (ARC TIME Freehold Income Authorised Fund) v. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] EWHC 2751 (Admin): amendments made by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to legislation for determining the sums a landlord would receive when a tenant under a long lease exercised a statutory right to enfranchisement were not incompatible with the rights of landlords under Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the ECHR (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- R (D1914) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1853 (Admin): by not fully implementing the recommendations of the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre inquiry, the Secretary of State had not breached Article 3 (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- Attorney General v. BBC [2025] EWHC 1669 (KB): the court ordered a new independent investigation of MI5’s conduct after false evidence was given by MI5 officers in legal proceedings against the BBC and in IPT proceedings brought by Beth (counsel to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal).
- R (National Council for Civil Liberties) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 571; [2026] KB 39: the Public Order Act 1986 (Serious Disruption to the Life of the Community) Regulations 2023 were unlawful (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- Ferguson and others v. United Kingdom: acting on behalf of the applicants in an ongoing challenge in the European Court of Human Rights to the revocation of same sex marriage in Bermuda.
- R (Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] PTSR 604 (Admin): the Secretary of State’s decision to transfer the police commissioner’s powers to the elected mayor was unlawful (counsel to the Police and Crime Commissioner).
- R (Kent County Council) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3030 (Admin): judicial review of the National Transfer Scheme for transferring responsibility for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (counsel for Kent County Council).
- R (Eveleigh) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2023] 1 WLR 3599: (CA) the survey carried out prior to the publication of the National Disability Strategy did not amount to a consultation to which the Gunning principles applied (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Elan-Cane) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] 1 WLR 699 (SC): the policy precluding the issue of passports with an X sex marker did not breach the ECHR rights of the non-binary claimant (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (AB) v. Secretary of State for Justice [2021] 3 WLR 494 (SC): the segregation of a child detained in a Young Offender Institution did not constitute a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Steinfeld and Keidan) v. Secretary of State for International Development [2020] AC 1 (SC): the exclusion of heterosexual couples from civil partnerships constituted an unlawful interference with Articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR (junior counsel to the Appellants).
- R (McConnell) v. Registrar General [2020] 3 WLR 683 (CA): the requirement for a trans man to register as the mother of the child he gave birth to was not contrary to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 or Articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR (junior counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Heathrow Hub) v. Secretary of State for Transport [2020] 4 CMLR 17 (CA): judicial review of the Airports NPS proposing a third runway at Heathrow Airport (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- Privacy International & Ors v. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2019] UKIPTrib IPT_17_186_CH: the IPT held that MI5’s policy of “authorising” its agents to participate in criminality was lawful (junior counsel to the IPT).
- First Protocol 16 Advisory Opinion by the European Court of Human Rights (2019): the recognition in domestic law of a legal parent-child relationship between a child born through a surrogacy arrangement abroad and the intended mother (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (DSD and NBV) v. Parole Board of England and Wales [2018] 3 WLR 829: the decision to release the convicted rapist John Worboys was unlawful (junior counsel to the Mayor of London).
- Big Brother Watch v. United Kingdom (2018) ECHR 58170/13: the European Court of Human Rights held that the regime for bulk interception of communications and for acquisition of communications data violated Articles 8 and 10 ECHR (junior counsel to Human Rights Watch).
Sarah has significant experience in investigations and public inquiries. She has conducted or advised on a number of independent inquiries or investigations in the public and private sector. She has particular expertise in higher education, having recently conducted investigations for two Oxbridge colleges into their handling of allegations of sexual misconduct. Sarah has advised on a number of complex, wide ranging investigations for the EHRC.
Recent work includes:
- Covid Inquiry (modules 3, 8 and 9, 2023-2025): acting on behalf of the Long Covid Groups.
- Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (2017-2022): acted on behalf of Ofsted in the following strands: residential schools, religious organisations and settings, the Roman Catholic Church, children in the care of the Nottinghamshire Councils and custodial institutions.
- Russell Group University (2021): advised on a complaint of disability discrimination made against the medical school by a student.
- University of Bristol (2021): advised on a complaint of Islamophobia made against an academic.
- EHRC Investigation into Antisemitism in the Labour Party (2019-2020): junior counsel to the EHRC.
- EHRC Inquiry into Racial Harassment in Higher Education (2019): counsel to the EHRC.
Sarah has expertise in all aspects of education law. She acts on behalf of a wide range of clients (including children, parents, local authorities, schools, higher education institutions, the Schools Adjudicator, Ofsted, the Education Funding Agency, and the Secretary of State for Education). Sarah acted as junior counsel to Just for Kids in R (Tigere) v. Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2015] 1 WLR 82 (SC). Sarah has particular expertise in safeguarding: she was instructed by Ofsted in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, has advised the Disclosure and Barring Service, and was legal adviser to the Winterbourne View Hospital Serious Case Review. Sarah advises and acts in cases involving higher education institutions, particularly in cases raising issues of free speech or equality. She advised the EHRC on its inquiry into racial harassment in higher education institutions. She has advised for many of the UK’s leading independent schools.
Sarah has published extensively in the field of education law. She is the co-author of Special Educational Needs and the Law (LAG, 2017) and co-authored the chapter on education in National Security: Law, Practice and Procedure (Ward and Blundell, 2024). She is a former case note editor for the Education Law Journal. Sarah was a member of the Justice working party on school exclusions and is a parent governor of a primary school in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
A full list of cases is here. Recent cases include:
- R (CKT) v. Twyford Church of England Academies Trust [2025] EWHC 2396 (Admin): admission arrangements prioritising those worshiping in a Church of England school placed non-white applicants at a particular disadvantage, but this was justified as a proportionate means of a chieving the legitimate aim of preserving the school’s Anglican ethos (counsel for the London Diocese Board of Schools).
- R (TTT) v. Michaela Community Schools Trust [2024] HRLR 9: the school’s policy of banning prayer rituals did not breach the ECHR or the Equality Act 2010 (counsel to the claimant).
- R (Aquilina) v. Secretary of State for Education [2024] EWHC 1998: professional misconduct which was not sufficiently short of the standard expected of a teacher to amount to serious professional misconduct could still amount to “conduct which may bring the profession into disrepute” (counsel for the claimant).
- R (AA) v. Secretary of State for Education [2022] ELR 700: the prohibition in the Equality Act 2010 on the First-tier Tribunal awarding damages in disability discrimination claims against schools did not breach Article 14 of the ECHR (counsel for the claimant).
- R (WC) v. Somerset County Council [2022] ELR 329: successful defence of a judicial review claim of the reorganisation of the three-tier school structure in Somerset (counsel for the local authority).
- R (Ngole) v. University of Sheffield [2019] ELR 443 (CA): the removal of a student social worker from his course for comments about LGBT people on Facebook breached Article 10 ECHR (counsel for the University).
- Reilly v. Sandwell MBC [2018] ELR 435 (SC): the governing body of a School did not unlawfully dismiss/breach the Article 8 rights of a headteacher who failed to disclose her relationship with a convicted sex offender (counsel for the local authority).
- R (Al-Hijrah School) v. Ofsted [2018] 1 WLR 1471 (CA): the segregation of girls from Year 5 in a mixed sex school constituted direct discrimination contrary to the Equality Act 2010 (junior counsel to Ofsted).
- C & C v. The Governing Body of a School [2018] ELR 552 (UT): regulation 4(1)(c) of the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010 (tendency to physical abuse) breached Article 14 of the ECHR (counsel for the Secretary of State).
- R (London Borough of Lewisham) v. Assessment and Qualifications Alliance [2013] ELR 281: challenge to GCSE English grades dismissed (junior counsel for Ofqual).
Sarah has a wide-ranging health and social care practice. She acts for claimants, doctors, local authorities, NHS bodies and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Sarah has a particular interest in reproductive health, and is presently appointed as Honorary Legal Counsel to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
A full list of cases is here. Recent cases include:
- R (FC) v. Bristol City Council [2025] EWHC 3227 (Admin): local authority’s imposition of a child protection plan was lawful (counsel for Bristol City Council).
- Lord Chancellor v. 79 Divorced Couples [2024] EWHC 3211 (Fam): the High Court held that 79 final divorce orders, erroneously granted a day early due to a computer error, were voidable but not void (counsel to the Lord Chancellor).
- R (DF) v. Essex County Council [2024] EWCA Civ 1545: that a child may be homeless for the purposes of section 175 of the Housing Act 1996 did not mean that they required accommodation under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (counsel for DF).
- X (Intercountry Adoption: Kafala, Non-compliance with section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002) [2024] EWHC 3198 (Fam): the court granted an adoption order in respect of a Moroccan child despite the prospective adopter having breached section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (counsel for the Secretary of State for Education).
- AP v. JP [2024] 4 WLR 57: the court did not have the power to issue a decree of nullity under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in respect of a marriage between the trans applicant and his wife which had taken place before he was granted a gender recognition certificate, and this inability did not interfere with their rights under the ECHR (advocate to the Court).
- AB v. Gender Recognition Panel [2024] EWHC 1456 (Fam): the Gender Recognition Panel had erred in rejecting a trans woman’s application for a gender recognition certificate (advocate to the Court).
- Secretary of State for Justice v. A Local Authority and Ors [2021] 3 WLR 1425 (CA): care workers ran the risk of committing an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 if they made practical arrangements for a man in their care to visit a sex worker where he had capacity to consent to sexual relations, but not to make the arrangements himself (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Services Ltd) v. Ofsted [2021] PTSR 14: Ofsted’s finding that the refusal of a foster care agency to recruit same sex carers breached the Equality Act 2010 was lawful and did not breach the Claimant’s ECHR rights (counsel to Ofsted).
- Re K (Forced Marriage: Passport Order) [2020] 1 FLR 904: the Court of Appeal gave guidance on the approach to Articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR when considering making forced marriage protection orders for adults with capacity (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (A) v. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2019] 1 WLR 2979 (CA): the directions prioritising transplanted organs to patients who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom were not ultra vires the National Health Service Act 2006 (junior counsel to the claimant).
- R (H) v. Secretary of State for Health [2019] EWHC 2095 (Admin): statutory bar on the genetic father of a child born pursuant to a surrogacy agreement being named as the father on her birth certificate did not breach Articles 8 or 14 of the ECHR. A subsequent application to the European Court of Human Rights was declared inadmissible (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Bawa-Garba) v. General Medical Council [2018] 163 BMLR 43 (CA): in deciding to strike off Dr Bawa-Garba, the Divisional Court erred in law (junior counsel to the doctor).
- R (Cornwall Council) v. Secretary of State for Health [2016] AC 137 (SC): test for determining the ordinary residence of a person who lacks capacity (junior counsel for South Gloucestershire Council).
Sarah has significant election law experience. She has advised and acted for a number of political parties, and in particular, advised on the responsibilities of political parties under the Equality Act 2010. In 2023 Sarah appeared before the Supreme Court of Mauritius in respect of an election petition concerning the 2019 election.
A full list of cases is here. Recent cases include:
- R v. Mackinlay [2018] 3 WLR 556 (SC): correct approach to declaring notional election expenses (junior counsel to the third defendant).
- Foster v. McNichol and Corbyn [2016] EWHC 1966 (QB): whether the Labour Party Rules 2016 require an incumbent leader to obtain nominations from 20% of the MPs in order to appear on the ballot (counsel to the applicant).
- Erlam v. Rahman [2015] 1 WLR 231: application by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets to strike out an election petition (counsel to the Mayor).
In 2008 Sarah was a Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, funded by a Pegasus Scholarship awarded by Inner Temple where she undertook work relating to Guantanamo detainees. Prior to coming to the Bar, Sarah was a lecturer in law at King’s College London from 2000 until 2005. She has taught at University College London, Queen Mary University of London and the University of New South Wales in Australia, and been a visiting professor at McGill University.
Sarah graduated from the University of Nottingham in 1998 with a LLB (Hons) (First Class). She has a LLM in Human Rights and Comparative Law from McGill University for which she was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship.
Sarah is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to their clients, including advice and representation services, Sarah 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 Sarah’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
"The breadth of Sarah Hannett's knowledge is utterly astonishing. She is a brilliant advocate, calm and unflappable." "Sarah is extremely responsive and great at explaining difficult legal issues to clients." "Sarah is a really measured opponent who is very fair and knowledgeable."
"Sarah is very approachable, and she has an open mind to innovative challenges. She is happy to really think through complicated situations and come up with solutions. She is efficient and detailed."
"An exceptional lawyer, one of those that the court really trusts. She can get right to the heart of the matter." "Sarah is highly intelligent and fearless in the face of tough arguments."
"Sarah sees through the chaos and details. She provides a very practical point of view and she is so pragmatic. She knows the law back to front." "Sarah delivers very strong submissions."
"Sarah Hannett is one of the best barristers for election law matters. She's an exceptionally good lawyer and a consummate team player."
"Sarah is tenacious and very astute when it comes to strategy and tactics."
"Sarah’s grounds are always clear and concise, her advice sensitive and perceptive and most importantly, realistic. She is also incredibly knowledgeable."
"Sarah is knowledgeable, and is extremely pragmatic, realistic and timely."
"Sarah is my go-to barrister. She is knowledgeable, her client service is excellent, and she is extremely pragmatic, realistic and timely."
"Sarah is knowledgeable. Her client service is excellent. She is extremely pragmatic, realistic and timely." "Sarah is very experienced." "She is a great advocate."
"Sarah goes the extra mile to assist. She is conscientious and willing to pursue cutting-edge cases. She is not afraid to practice outside her comfort zone. She is a public law expert due to the length of her practice and the range of cases she has taken. Her drafting is excellent, as are her advocacy and her interpersonal skills."
"She has a depth of knowledge across the education field and she is well established as a leading education barrister." "Sarah has a strong presence and she stands out."
"Very knowledgeable and able to deal with work very well."
"She's very efficient, exacting and meticulous in what she does. A very safe pair of hands." "She is great at advocacy and has strong strategic sense." "She is always impressive, whether acting for or against you. She is calm and thoughtful."
"She adds a huge amount of value to incredibly complex cases." "She is always impressive, whether acting for or against you."
"Sarah has a good tactical sense." "She presents cases phenomenally well."
"Sarah is outstanding. She handles challenging and complicated cases well." "Sarah is a real specialist." "Sarah has a tactical sense allowing her to see matters from all sides."
"A particularly thorough and conscientious silk, Sarah produces high quality work within very tight timescales."
"Sarah is the first choice of a barrister to go. She is very knowledgeable and provides very balanced opinions and never misses a deadline. She is brilliantly articulate and concise."
"Sarah is very thorough and conscientious. She produces high quality work and does so within agreed timescales."
"A thoughtful, subtle advocate and a real player in this field." "Sarah is really hard-working and robust in her approach to challenging injustice."
"Intellectually brilliant, very client-focused, pragmatic and very accessible." "She is very knowledgeable about higher education matters, provides quality, practical advice and always delights clients."
"Sarah Hannett is a really fantastic barrister. She is really hard-working and robust in her approach to challenging injustice."
"She's calm, measured and really knows public law inside out." "She has the gravitas of an experienced silk despite only being appointed recently."
"Sarah is calm, concise and provides a reasoned and balanced view of cases based on years of experience. She always puts the client's needs first."
"She has the ability to sink into the detail as well as high-level litigation strategy for complex cases."
"Possibly the best public law senior junior at the Bar currently. She can do government- and claimant-side work to the same very high standard and is a delight to work with – clients think that she’s brilliant."
"Brilliant on education, discrimination and special educational needs."
"She is very bright and switched on."
"Her legal analysis is rigorous, practical and helpful."
"She’s thorough in her preparation and very good in court."
"An impressive barrister who is excellent on paper."
"An outstanding education law barrister."
"She is a thoroughly knowledgeable barrister who clients naturally warm to. She always goes the extra mile and her written advice is clear, immediately understandable and always on time."
"She is really outstanding, and her ability to both bring and defend claims with equal effectiveness is rare."
"She’s very experienced and has the trust of the court."
"An impressive advocate."
"An experienced barrister who makes excellent written submissions."
"An exceptionally bright administrative lawyer. The submissions she drafts grapple with complex points of law in a way that enables the court to understand the importance of that detail. She is also extremely approachable and a very pleasant opponent."
"A real heavyweight lawyer in the field of education law. Great to work with and she adds a lot of value to court and tribunal preparation."
"A great junior counsel."
"Can utilise the more esoteric pieces of legislation when trying to develop arguments for novel situations."
"An extremely impressive junior and a rising star."
"Conscientious, thorough and very good at putting clients at ease."
"Bright, personable, hard-working and clever."
"An excellent barrister; very thorough."
"She is really excellent and knows the law thoroughly. Her written submissions are very clear and concise, and she has a good manner in court."
"She is very bright."
"She is sharp, innovative and has a good breadth of knowledge."
"She’s very straightforward, extremely hard-working and very good at communicating. She has an excellent manner with clients."
"She’s very client-friendly and gives really practical advice."
"She’s responsive and incisive. She really has a grasp of the issues affecting the sector and provides clear and concise opinions, pleadings and advocacy."
"She is really outstanding, and her ability to both bring and defend claims with equal effectiveness is rare."
"She’s very experienced and has the trust of the court."
"An impressive advocate."
"An experienced public lawyer with involvement in many election cases, who is bright and good with clients."
"A very able advocate with excellent judgment."
"The best education law junior around."
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE:
- Civil Liberties and Human Rights
- Commercial Law
- Commercial Public Law
- Competition
- Competition and EU
- ESG
- Education Law
- Election Law
- Employment Law
- Equality and Discrimination Law
- Health and Social Care (including welfare benefits)
- Immigration, Asylum and Free Movement
- Investigations
- Local Government Law
- Police, Inquests and Prison
- Public International Law
- Public Law
- Public Law: Information, Data and Privacy
- Tax Law
+44 (0)20 7404 3447
"Sarah is my go-to barrister. She is knowledgeable, her client service is excellent, and she is extremely pragmatic, realistic and timely."
Chambers & Partners 2024
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE
- Commercial Law
- Community Care Law
- Competition
- Discrimination and Equality
- Education Law
- Election Law
- Employment Law
- Healthcare, Mental Health and Mental Capacity
- Civil Liberties and Human Rights
- Immigration, Asylum and Free Movement
- Investigations
- Local Government Law
- Prison Law
- Public Law
- Tax Law
- Public International Law
- Public Law: Information, Data and Privacy
- Police, Inquests and Prison
- Health and Social Care (including welfare benefits)
- Commercial Public Law
- Equality and Discrimination Law
- Competition and EU
- ESG
Sarah Hannett KC
Contact Sarah: sarahhannett@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447
Contact Sarah's Practice Team (Team X): TeamX@matrixlaw.co.uk
Sarah practises in all areas of public law and human rights. She has acted in many of the significant public law cases in recent years, including in the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Her cases include For Women Scotland, the challenge to VAT on private school fees (ALR), the ongoing litigation concerning the revocation of same-sex marriage in Bermuda (Ferguson), the approach to non-binary identity (Elan-Cane), same-sex civil partnerships (Steinfeld), the lawfulness of the commission of criminal acts by MI5 agents (Privacy International), human rights claims arising out of undercover policing (Wilson), and the challenge to the release of John Worboys from prison (DSD and NBV).
Sarah is a member of the A-Panel of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Preferred Counsel. Before talking silk, Sarah was a member of the Attorney General’s A panel of counsel.
Sarah is ranked in the directories for public and administrative law, civil liberties and human rights, education, community care, independent investigations and elections. In 2024 and 2025 Sarah was shortlisted for public services and charities silk of the year in the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards. In 2020 Sarah was shortlisted for the Human Rights and Public Law junior of the year in the Chambers Bar UK Awards, and in 2019, she was shortlisted for Public Law Junior of the Year in the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards. Sarah was awarded the Bar Pro Bono award in 2013 for her work on the School Exclusion Project, an organisation that provides pro-bono representation to parents appealing against the permanent exclusion of their child from school.
Recent publications include (as co-author) Blackstone’s Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998 (OUP, 2024) and Special Educational Needs and the Law (LAG, 2017), and as a contributing author, National Security Law, Procedure and Practice (OUP, 2024) and Information Rights (Bloomsbury, 2024). Sarah has published articles on public law and human rights in Public Law, Judicial Review and the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies.
Sarah’s particular areas of expertise include equality law, education, national security, election and regulatory law.
Public Law and Human Rights
Sarah appears regularly on behalf of claimants (including individuals, commercial organisations and NGOs), local authorities, the Secretary of State, and regulators. She has particular expertise in claims under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010. Sarah often acts as Counsel to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, has been appointed as Advocate to the Court, and appears on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
Sarah has a significant international practice, acting in cases before the European Court of Human Rights. She has also acted in cases concerning Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, Trinidad, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
A full list of cases is here. Recent cases include:
- R (ALR) v. Chancellor of the Exchequer [2025] EWHC 1467 (Admin); [2026] 1 WLR 10: the provisions of the Finance Act 2025 which imposed VAT on private school fees did not breach the ECHR (counsel for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, HMRC and the Secretary of State for Education).
- For Women Scotland Ltd v. Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16; [2025] 2 WLR 879: a person with a gender recognition certificate in the female gender did not come within the definition of “woman” for the purposes of sex discrimination in the Equality Act 2010 (counsel for Amnesty International UK).
- R (ABW) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 3280 (Admin): approach to the imposition of public order disqualification decisions on victims of trafficking unlawful (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- R (ARC TIME Freehold Income Authorised Fund) v. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] EWHC 2751 (Admin): amendments made by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to legislation for determining the sums a landlord would receive when a tenant under a long lease exercised a statutory right to enfranchisement were not incompatible with the rights of landlords under Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the ECHR (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- R (D1914) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1853 (Admin): by not fully implementing the recommendations of the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre inquiry, the Secretary of State had not breached Article 3 (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- Attorney General v. BBC [2025] EWHC 1669 (KB): the court ordered a new independent investigation of MI5’s conduct after false evidence was given by MI5 officers in legal proceedings against the BBC and in IPT proceedings brought by Beth (counsel to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal).
- R (National Council for Civil Liberties) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 571; [2026] KB 39: the Public Order Act 1986 (Serious Disruption to the Life of the Community) Regulations 2023 were unlawful (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- Ferguson and others v. United Kingdom: acting on behalf of the applicants in an ongoing challenge in the European Court of Human Rights to the revocation of same sex marriage in Bermuda.
- R (Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] PTSR 604 (Admin): the Secretary of State’s decision to transfer the police commissioner’s powers to the elected mayor was unlawful (counsel to the Police and Crime Commissioner).
- R (Kent County Council) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3030 (Admin): judicial review of the National Transfer Scheme for transferring responsibility for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (counsel for Kent County Council).
- R (Eveleigh) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2023] 1 WLR 3599: (CA) the survey carried out prior to the publication of the National Disability Strategy did not amount to a consultation to which the Gunning principles applied (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Elan-Cane) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] 1 WLR 699 (SC): the policy precluding the issue of passports with an X sex marker did not breach the ECHR rights of the non-binary claimant (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (AB) v. Secretary of State for Justice [2021] 3 WLR 494 (SC): the segregation of a child detained in a Young Offender Institution did not constitute a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Steinfeld and Keidan) v. Secretary of State for International Development [2020] AC 1 (SC): the exclusion of heterosexual couples from civil partnerships constituted an unlawful interference with Articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR (junior counsel to the Appellants).
- R (McConnell) v. Registrar General [2020] 3 WLR 683 (CA): the requirement for a trans man to register as the mother of the child he gave birth to was not contrary to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 or Articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR (junior counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Heathrow Hub) v. Secretary of State for Transport [2020] 4 CMLR 17 (CA): judicial review of the Airports NPS proposing a third runway at Heathrow Airport (counsel to the Speaker of the House of Commons).
- Privacy International & Ors v. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2019] UKIPTrib IPT_17_186_CH: the IPT held that MI5’s policy of “authorising” its agents to participate in criminality was lawful (junior counsel to the IPT).
- First Protocol 16 Advisory Opinion by the European Court of Human Rights (2019): the recognition in domestic law of a legal parent-child relationship between a child born through a surrogacy arrangement abroad and the intended mother (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (DSD and NBV) v. Parole Board of England and Wales [2018] 3 WLR 829: the decision to release the convicted rapist John Worboys was unlawful (junior counsel to the Mayor of London).
- Big Brother Watch v. United Kingdom (2018) ECHR 58170/13: the European Court of Human Rights held that the regime for bulk interception of communications and for acquisition of communications data violated Articles 8 and 10 ECHR (junior counsel to Human Rights Watch).
Investigations and Inquiries
Sarah has significant experience in investigations and public inquiries. She has conducted or advised on a number of independent inquiries or investigations in the public and private sector. She has particular expertise in higher education, having recently conducted investigations for two Oxbridge colleges into their handling of allegations of sexual misconduct. Sarah has advised on a number of complex, wide ranging investigations for the EHRC.
Recent work includes:
- Covid Inquiry (modules 3, 8 and 9, 2023-2025): acting on behalf of the Long Covid Groups.
- Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (2017-2022): acted on behalf of Ofsted in the following strands: residential schools, religious organisations and settings, the Roman Catholic Church, children in the care of the Nottinghamshire Councils and custodial institutions.
- Russell Group University (2021): advised on a complaint of disability discrimination made against the medical school by a student.
- University of Bristol (2021): advised on a complaint of Islamophobia made against an academic.
- EHRC Investigation into Antisemitism in the Labour Party (2019-2020): junior counsel to the EHRC.
- EHRC Inquiry into Racial Harassment in Higher Education (2019): counsel to the EHRC.
Education
Sarah has expertise in all aspects of education law. She acts on behalf of a wide range of clients (including children, parents, local authorities, schools, higher education institutions, the Schools Adjudicator, Ofsted, the Education Funding Agency, and the Secretary of State for Education). Sarah acted as junior counsel to Just for Kids in R (Tigere) v. Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2015] 1 WLR 82 (SC). Sarah has particular expertise in safeguarding: she was instructed by Ofsted in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, has advised the Disclosure and Barring Service, and was legal adviser to the Winterbourne View Hospital Serious Case Review. Sarah advises and acts in cases involving higher education institutions, particularly in cases raising issues of free speech or equality. She advised the EHRC on its inquiry into racial harassment in higher education institutions. She has advised for many of the UK’s leading independent schools.
Sarah has published extensively in the field of education law. She is the co-author of Special Educational Needs and the Law (LAG, 2017) and co-authored the chapter on education in National Security: Law, Practice and Procedure (Ward and Blundell, 2024). She is a former case note editor for the Education Law Journal. Sarah was a member of the Justice working party on school exclusions and is a parent governor of a primary school in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
A full list of cases is here. Recent cases include:
- R (CKT) v. Twyford Church of England Academies Trust [2025] EWHC 2396 (Admin): admission arrangements prioritising those worshiping in a Church of England school placed non-white applicants at a particular disadvantage, but this was justified as a proportionate means of a chieving the legitimate aim of preserving the school’s Anglican ethos (counsel for the London Diocese Board of Schools).
- R (TTT) v. Michaela Community Schools Trust [2024] HRLR 9: the school’s policy of banning prayer rituals did not breach the ECHR or the Equality Act 2010 (counsel to the claimant).
- R (Aquilina) v. Secretary of State for Education [2024] EWHC 1998: professional misconduct which was not sufficiently short of the standard expected of a teacher to amount to serious professional misconduct could still amount to “conduct which may bring the profession into disrepute” (counsel for the claimant).
- R (AA) v. Secretary of State for Education [2022] ELR 700: the prohibition in the Equality Act 2010 on the First-tier Tribunal awarding damages in disability discrimination claims against schools did not breach Article 14 of the ECHR (counsel for the claimant).
- R (WC) v. Somerset County Council [2022] ELR 329: successful defence of a judicial review claim of the reorganisation of the three-tier school structure in Somerset (counsel for the local authority).
- R (Ngole) v. University of Sheffield [2019] ELR 443 (CA): the removal of a student social worker from his course for comments about LGBT people on Facebook breached Article 10 ECHR (counsel for the University).
- Reilly v. Sandwell MBC [2018] ELR 435 (SC): the governing body of a School did not unlawfully dismiss/breach the Article 8 rights of a headteacher who failed to disclose her relationship with a convicted sex offender (counsel for the local authority).
- R (Al-Hijrah School) v. Ofsted [2018] 1 WLR 1471 (CA): the segregation of girls from Year 5 in a mixed sex school constituted direct discrimination contrary to the Equality Act 2010 (junior counsel to Ofsted).
- C & C v. The Governing Body of a School [2018] ELR 552 (UT): regulation 4(1)(c) of the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010 (tendency to physical abuse) breached Article 14 of the ECHR (counsel for the Secretary of State).
- R (London Borough of Lewisham) v. Assessment and Qualifications Alliance [2013] ELR 281: challenge to GCSE English grades dismissed (junior counsel for Ofqual).
Health and Social Care
Sarah has a wide-ranging health and social care practice. She acts for claimants, doctors, local authorities, NHS bodies and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Sarah has a particular interest in reproductive health, and is presently appointed as Honorary Legal Counsel to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
A full list of cases is here. Recent cases include:
- R (FC) v. Bristol City Council [2025] EWHC 3227 (Admin): local authority’s imposition of a child protection plan was lawful (counsel for Bristol City Council).
- Lord Chancellor v. 79 Divorced Couples [2024] EWHC 3211 (Fam): the High Court held that 79 final divorce orders, erroneously granted a day early due to a computer error, were voidable but not void (counsel to the Lord Chancellor).
- R (DF) v. Essex County Council [2024] EWCA Civ 1545: that a child may be homeless for the purposes of section 175 of the Housing Act 1996 did not mean that they required accommodation under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (counsel for DF).
- X (Intercountry Adoption: Kafala, Non-compliance with section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002) [2024] EWHC 3198 (Fam): the court granted an adoption order in respect of a Moroccan child despite the prospective adopter having breached section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (counsel for the Secretary of State for Education).
- AP v. JP [2024] 4 WLR 57: the court did not have the power to issue a decree of nullity under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in respect of a marriage between the trans applicant and his wife which had taken place before he was granted a gender recognition certificate, and this inability did not interfere with their rights under the ECHR (advocate to the Court).
- AB v. Gender Recognition Panel [2024] EWHC 1456 (Fam): the Gender Recognition Panel had erred in rejecting a trans woman’s application for a gender recognition certificate (advocate to the Court).
- Secretary of State for Justice v. A Local Authority and Ors [2021] 3 WLR 1425 (CA): care workers ran the risk of committing an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 if they made practical arrangements for a man in their care to visit a sex worker where he had capacity to consent to sexual relations, but not to make the arrangements himself (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Services Ltd) v. Ofsted [2021] PTSR 14: Ofsted’s finding that the refusal of a foster care agency to recruit same sex carers breached the Equality Act 2010 was lawful and did not breach the Claimant’s ECHR rights (counsel to Ofsted).
- Re K (Forced Marriage: Passport Order) [2020] 1 FLR 904: the Court of Appeal gave guidance on the approach to Articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR when considering making forced marriage protection orders for adults with capacity (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (A) v. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2019] 1 WLR 2979 (CA): the directions prioritising transplanted organs to patients who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom were not ultra vires the National Health Service Act 2006 (junior counsel to the claimant).
- R (H) v. Secretary of State for Health [2019] EWHC 2095 (Admin): statutory bar on the genetic father of a child born pursuant to a surrogacy agreement being named as the father on her birth certificate did not breach Articles 8 or 14 of the ECHR. A subsequent application to the European Court of Human Rights was declared inadmissible (counsel to the Secretary of State).
- R (Bawa-Garba) v. General Medical Council [2018] 163 BMLR 43 (CA): in deciding to strike off Dr Bawa-Garba, the Divisional Court erred in law (junior counsel to the doctor).
- R (Cornwall Council) v. Secretary of State for Health [2016] AC 137 (SC): test for determining the ordinary residence of a person who lacks capacity (junior counsel for South Gloucestershire Council).
Election Law
Sarah has significant election law experience. She has advised and acted for a number of political parties, and in particular, advised on the responsibilities of political parties under the Equality Act 2010. In 2023 Sarah appeared before the Supreme Court of Mauritius in respect of an election petition concerning the 2019 election.
A full list of cases is here. Recent cases include:
- R v. Mackinlay [2018] 3 WLR 556 (SC): correct approach to declaring notional election expenses (junior counsel to the third defendant).
- Foster v. McNichol and Corbyn [2016] EWHC 1966 (QB): whether the Labour Party Rules 2016 require an incumbent leader to obtain nominations from 20% of the MPs in order to appear on the ballot (counsel to the applicant).
- Erlam v. Rahman [2015] 1 WLR 231: application by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets to strike out an election petition (counsel to the Mayor).
Other Experience
In 2008 Sarah was a Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, funded by a Pegasus Scholarship awarded by Inner Temple where she undertook work relating to Guantanamo detainees. Prior to coming to the Bar, Sarah was a lecturer in law at King’s College London from 2000 until 2005. She has taught at University College London, Queen Mary University of London and the University of New South Wales in Australia, and been a visiting professor at McGill University.
Sarah graduated from the University of Nottingham in 1998 with a LLB (Hons) (First Class). She has a LLM in Human Rights and Comparative Law from McGill University for which she was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship.
Sarah's Privacy Notice
Sarah is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to her clients, including advice and representation services, Sarah needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes her client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which she is instructed. To read Sarah’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATIONS
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"Sarah Hannett is a really fantastic barrister. She is really hard-working and robust in her approach to challenging injustice."
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"Possibly the best public law senior junior at the Bar currently. She can do government- and claimant-side work to the same very high standard and is a delight to work with – clients think that she’s brilliant."
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"A real heavyweight lawyer in the field of education law. Great to work with and she adds a lot of value to court and tribunal preparation."
"A great junior counsel."
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"She’s responsive and incisive. She really has a grasp of the issues affecting the sector and provides clear and concise opinions, pleadings and advocacy."
"She is really outstanding, and her ability to both bring and defend claims with equal effectiveness is rare."
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"An experienced public lawyer with involvement in many election cases, who is bright and good with clients."
"A very able advocate with excellent judgment."
"The best education law junior around."