Leave.EU and Eldon v Information Commissioner
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | a Three Judge Panel |
| Neutral Citation | [2021] UKUT 26 (AAC) |
| Subject Matter | Information rights - Data protection,Gray,P,Jacobs,E,Wikeley,N |
| Court | Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) |
| Published date | 10 February 2021 |
IN THE UPPER TRIBUNAL Appeal No. GIA/918/2020 (V),
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS CHAMBER GIA/920/2020 (V), GIA/921/2020 (V),
GIA/922/2020 (V) & GIA/923/2020 (V)
Appellants: Leave.EU Group Limited (GIA/918/2020 & GIA/920/2020)
Eldon Insurance Services Limited (GIA/921/2020,
GIA/922/2020 & GIA/923/2020)
Respondent: The Information Commissioner
DECISION OF THE UPPER TRIBUNAL
UPPER TRIBUNAL JUDGE JACOBS
UPPER TRIBUNAL JUDGE WIKELEY
UPPER TRIBUNAL JUDGE GRAY
Decision date: 8 February 2021
ON APPEAL FROM:
Tribunal: First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber)
Tribunal Case No: EA/2019/0054, EA/2019/0056, EA/2019/0057, EA/2019/0058 &
EA/2019/0059
Tribunal Venue: Field House, London
FTT Hearing Date: 9-11 December 2019
This front sheet is for the convenience of the parties and does not form part of the decision
1
IN THE UPPER TRIBUNAL Appeal No. GIA/918/2020 (V),
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS CHAMBER GIA/920/2020 (V), GIA/921/2020 (V),
GIA/922/2020 (V) & GIA/923/2020 (V)
On appeal from the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber)
Between: Leave.EU Group Limited
and
Eldon Insurance Services Limited Appellants
- v –
The Information Commissioner Respondent
Before: Upper Tribunal Judges Jacobs, Wikeley and Gray
Hearing date: 13 and 14 January 2021
Decision date: 8 February 2021
Representation:
Appellants: Mr Gerry Facenna QC and Ms Daisy Mackersie of Counsel,
instructed by Kingsley Napley LLP, Solicitors
Respondent: Mr Christopher Knight of Counsel, instructed by the Information
Commissioner’s Office
DECISION
The decision of the Upper Tribunal is to dismiss the appeals.
Leave.EU Group Ltd and Eldon Insurance Services Ltd -v- Information Commissioner
[2021] UKUT 26 (AAC) Case Nos: GIA/918/2020 and GIA/920/2020-GIA/923/2020
2
REASONS FOR DECISION
Introduction
1. We use the following abbreviations in this decision (for convenience we also
repeat the abbreviation the first time each is used):
the 1995 Directive: Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with
regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of
such data
the 2002 Directive: Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of
personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic
communications sector
the 2009 Directive: Directive 2009/136/EC
the 2010 Regulations: the Data Protection (Monetary Penalties) (Maximum
Penalty and Notices) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/31)
BCL: Better for the Country Ltd
CJEU: Court of Justice of the European Union
the Commissioner: the Information Commissioner
DPA 1998: Data Protection Act 1998
DPA 2018: Data Protection Act 2018
Eldon: Eldon Insurance Services Limited
FTT: First-tier Tribunal
GDPR: the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679
on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of
personal data and on the free movement of such data
Leave.EU: Leave.EU Group Limited
MPN: monetary penalty notice
PECR: the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive)
Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426)
2. These appeals concern regulatory action taken by the Information
Commissioner (‘the Commissioner’) against both Leave.EU Group Limited
(‘Leave.EU’, a political pressure group) and Eldon Insurance Services Ltd
(‘Eldon’, now Somerset Bridge Insurance Services Ltd). Mr Arron Banks, a well-
known advocate of, and campaigner for, Brexit is a key figure in both Leave.EU
and Eldon.
3. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT), dismissing the Appellants’ appeals against the
Commissioner’s regulatory action, summarised the relationship between
Leave.EU and Eldon as follows:
[5] Leave.EU is a limited company established for cross-party political
purposes, created to campaign in support of the UK exiting the European
Union. Eldon is a limited company providing insurance services, regulated
by the Financial Conduct Authority. It provides some insurance products
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Leave.EU Group Ltd v The Information Commissioner
...COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION) ON APPEAL FROM THE UPPER TRIBUNAL (ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS CHAMBER) UT JUDGES JACOBS, WIKELEY AND GRAY [2021] UKUT 26 (AAC) Royal Courts of Justice, Strand London WC2A 2LL “Covid-19 Protocol: This judgment was handed down remotely by circulation to the partie......