Two women – both survivors of rape in the military – are challenging the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) policies governing the right of Service Personnel (SP) to communicate directly with the press and/or Parliament (including the House of Commons Defence Committee). The case will be heard over two days in the High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice on 12 and 13 November 2025.
The challenge was issued last September and, following a judgment delivered by Mr Justice Saini on 22 May 2025, the Secretary of State conceded that his policies preventing all SP from any communications with the press or Parliament without first getting the consent of the MoD, were and always had been unlawful in that they amounted to a breach of the service women’s human rights (particularly their right to freedom of expression). The Secretary of State also admitted that there had been breaches of the Public Sector Equality Duty in relation to his policies.
The MoD has now replaced the original policies with new policies and will argue that they are now lawful. The Claimants will argue that the new policies are also unlawful, in that they continue to impose an unjustified and unlawful restriction on the right of SP (and service women in particular) to communicate with the media or with Parliament about their all too common experiences of sexual harassment and sexual assault, unless they first go and get permission from MoD, the very institution that many of them wish to criticise.
The claimants are entitled to lifelong anonymity and anonymity orders are in place.
The case is called EPX & PGH v Secretary of State for Defence and will be heard before Mrs Justice Lang.
The women are represented by solicitors at the Centre for Military Justice and counsel from 1 Crown Office Row, Oliver Sanders KC and Emma-Louise Fenelon.