Mr McKenzie Uruakpa v Department for Education and others — 2023

This was a public preliminary hearing on 3 and 4 July 2023 before Employment Judge Hindmarch. The claimant did not attend. On the morning of the first day, an email sent from the claimant's address and signed by Mrs Uruakpa said he was ill and that a medical note would follow, but no medical evidence was provided. The respondent asked the tribunal to proceed in his absence, and the judge did so.

The judgment set out the history of the case management hearings and the directions made at earlier hearings, including orders to notify the respondent's solicitor of applications, to provide medical evidence, and to explain why individual respondents had been named. It also recorded repeated correspondence sent by or on behalf of the claimant to the tribunal and to many unconnected recipients using signatures such as 'McKenzie Friend', 'Claimant, Victim and Witness Representative' and 'Victim Representative'. That correspondence included allegations of fraud, intimidation, and requests for police investigation and charging of named individuals.

Applying Rule 37, the tribunal held that the proceedings had been conducted in a scandalous, unreasonable and vexatious way, that there had been material non-compliance with tribunal orders, and that the claims were no longer actively pursued. It concluded that a fair trial was no longer possible and that strike out was proportionate. The result was that all claims were struck out; no merits findings or remedy were made.