A deaf woman from Leeds has emerged victorious today after a judge ruled in her favour over a lack of sign language for No.10 Covid briefings.
Katie Rowley from Leeds began her legal challenge against Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove last year and has now had the ruling she was hoping for.
The self-employed actor and writer, who is also hearing impaired herself, claimed in her legal challenge that the government had failed to make the important covid broadcasts accessible to all – in effect breaching its obligations to the public.
Today, a London judge ruled in her favour – despite ministers disputing her claims and Mr. Goves lawyers attempting to have her case dismissed.
The court looked at the events of September 21 2020 and October 12 2020, where on both days there was no interpreter provided to sign at the government’s own Covid press conferences.
Similar briefings in other parts of the UK by Welsh and Scottish first ministers were found to have included British Sign Language interpreters on screen.
Reflecting on this, Mr Justice Fordham ruled that the absence of any sign language interpretation for “data briefings” equated to “discrimination” against Mrs Rowley.
Adding that the government was not “in present or continuing breach”, he went on to say that decisions regarding damages would be assessed by another judge in a county court.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said after the ruling: “We are pleased that the court ruled our policy of using on-screen British Sign Language interpreters was lawful during the pandemic.
“Our priority has always been to reach the largest possible audience with important public information, and we will continue to ensure that British sign language interpretation is made available during Covid-19 briefings.”
Feature image – Disability News Service.
