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Laura Profumo specialises in civil liberties and human rights, with a particular focus on claims against public authorities, judicial review, and inquest and inquiries.

Laura has a thriving and varied practice in inquest and inquiry work. She regularly acts for bereaved families in complex Article 2 inquests and has been instructed on several high-profile public inquiries. She co-represented 34 survivors of child sex abuse in relation to the Nottinghamshire Phase of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). She also recently acted in the Brook House Inquiry, set up to investigate the serious mistreatment of immigration detainees, in which she was part of the counsel team representing several formerly detained persons and the charity, Medical Justice.

Inquests and Inquiries

Laura has a busy and wide-ranging practice representing bereaved families in Article 2 ECHR and domestic inquests. She has particular expertise in inquests concerning deaths in prison and police custody and those arising within acute inpatient, community mental health and care home settings. Laura also specialises in civil claims and related public law advisory work arising out of inquests.

Laura is developing an impressive public inquiry practice. She acted in the Nottinghamshire Phase of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), in which she was instructed as Junior Counsel to represent 34 survivors of child sex abuse. Laura was also recently instructed in the Brook House Inquiry, set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the serious mistreatment of immigration detainees held at the IRC in mid-2017. She was instructed as Junior Co-Counsel, to represent the charity Medical Justice and five formerly detained persons in these recently concluded proceedings. Laura made the opening oral submissions on behalf of two of the non-state core participants, in Phase 1 of the Inquiry, which can be viewed here [time-marked at 25:20]. 

Claims Against the Police and Public Authorities

Laura is regularly instructed to represent Claimants in a variety of claims against public authorities. This includes actions against the police, prison service/Ministry of Justice, Home Office, private contractors and local authorities across the full range of torts and claims under the Human Rights Act 1998. She has particular interest in the scope of Article 3 and related investigative failure claims to circumvent the limitations of negligence liability, having co-authored an article on this subject for the Journal of Personal Injury Law.

Administrative and Public Law

Laura advises on a breadth of public law matters across her practice, including on prisoner’s rights, parole and coronial decisions. She has also been involved in several policy challenges in recent years concerning issues of immigration control and migrant welfare, including a recent judicial review challenging the discriminatory impact of the NHS charging regime on pregnant women, new mothers, and other categories of destitute migrant women.