Richard O’Brien KC

Richard is a leading silk in relation to public law and human rights, and recognised as such in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.  

He works in a wide range of public law cases, but has niche experience in sanctions, national security (including national security and investment), regulation (particularly energy and financial services), and immigration, including business immigration.

Richard has a particular interest and expertise in areas where public and commercial law intersect.

He regularly acts for government departments, particularly the FCO, HM Treasury, Ministry of Justice, Home Office, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, and also the National Crime Agency; for regulators, including Ofgem; for claimants and for third party interveners.  

He is also committed to pro bono work, acting for both individuals and organisations. In 2013 he was nominated for the Bar Pro Bono Award. In 2012 he successfully acted for an athlete seeking British nationality in order to compete for the UK in London Olympics. 

Recent cases include: 

• R (XY) v Security Vetting Appeals Panel (Parliamentary Security Department as Interested Party) (ongoing): acting for the claimant challenging a refusal of security clearance. 

• R (Uchoa) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (ongoing): acting for a claimant with severe mental health difficulties, challenging decisions regarding his applications for leave to remain, including a refusal to provide an assurance that he will not be placed in immigration detention pending any decision to remove. 

• R (Jones Whyte) v Legal Ombudsman (ongoing): acting for a claimant firm of solicitors challenging a decision under Rule 2.10 of the Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules that it is responsible for complaints made against another firm on the basis that it “succeeded” to the whole or substantially the whole of the other firm’s business.  

• R (Gray & others) v Secretary of State for Justice (ongoing): acting for the Secretary of State defending a judicial review challenge concerning reform of the law of marriage (following Richard’s involvement in the earlier case of R (Harrison) v Secretary of State for Justice [2020] EWHC 2096 (Admin)

• R (Al-Haq) v Secretary of State for Business and Trade [2025] EWHC 1615 (Admin): a challenge by a Palestinian activist group to the UK Government decision to carve out from its suspension of arms exports to Israel components of the F-35 fighter-bomber destined for a multi-national programme of which Israel is a customer. 

• MOD v Global Media & Entertainment Ltd  [2025] EWHC 1806: discharge of a super-injunction relating to data incident which resulted in the leak of data relating to Afghan citizens working with UK forces. 

• R (QP1) v Secretary of State for Defence [2025] EWHC 2504: claim challenging the government’s decision that the claimant was not sufficiently high profile to be prioritised for assistance following a leak of data relating Afghan citizens working with UK forces. 

• R (FTDI Holding Ltd) v Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster [2025] EWHC 1922 (Admin) and [2025] EWHC 241 (Admin): a claim by a Chinese investment company to the UK Government decision to require it to divest from a UK semiconductor producer, using powers under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.   

• Kearney and BBC v Security Service & Ors [2025] UKIPTrib 13: alleged unlawful surveillance of journalists’ communications over two decades of reporting on Northern Ireland. 

• R (British Medical Association) v His Majesty’s Treasury [2024] EWCA Civ 355: acting for HMT defending public sector pension reforms worth £19 billion to the taxpayer. 

• Al-Nashiri v Security Service and others [2023] UKIP Trib 6: the claimant has been detained since 2006 in Guantanamo Bay. He alleges complicity by the UK intelligence agencies in his capture, detention and interrogation. His claims under the Human Rights Act 1998 were dismissed on the ground that the facts fell outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. 

• Liberty and Privacy International v Security Service [2023] UKIPTrib 1: a challenge in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to issues arising from MI5’s retention of data in two technology environments. 

• Faetz & Ors v National Crime Agency [2023] UKIPTrib 6 and Palmer & Ors v NCA [2024] EWCA Civ 1095: claims brought by several criminal defendants concerning ‘Encrochat’, the encrypted telephone handsets often used by organised criminals.