Profile
Flora has a diverse public law practice focusing on cases concerning health, social care, education, environmental and planning law. Flora regularly appears in court, inquiries and other tribunals, both as sole and junior counsel. She has particular experience in cases involving complex environmental matters, and has acted in high profile climate change litigation. Flora is ranked as a “rising star” in planning law by the Legal 500.
Flora acts for a wide range of clients including NGOs, community groups, private individuals, central and local government, and other public authorities. In appropriate cases she is willing to act on a pro-bono basis.
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Elliott Hurrell
Director of Clerking
Additional Information
Before coming to the Bar, Flora spent four months as a trainee in the cabinet of Judge Bernd Hammermann at the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). She gained experience in the application of EEA law in a wide range of contexts. Flora also spent three months volunteering as a research assistant to Professor Meg Russell, Director of the UCL Constitution Unit, conducting research into Brexit, parliament, and parliamentary sovereignty.
Outside of practice, Flora is on the Advisory Board of Legal Voices for the Future, a collaborative learning forum whose objective is to give voice to a new generation of lawyers on issues connected to the climate and biodiversity crises.
Additional Information
Before coming to the Bar, Flora spent four months as a trainee in the cabinet of Judge Bernd Hammermann at the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). She gained experience in the application of EEA law in a wide range of contexts. Flora also spent three months volunteering as a research assistant to Professor Meg Russell, Director of the UCL Constitution Unit, conducting research into Brexit, parliament, and parliamentary sovereignty.
Outside of practice, Flora is on the Advisory Board of Legal Voices for the Future, a collaborative learning forum whose objective is to give voice to a new generation of lawyers on issues connected to the climate and biodiversity crises.
Contact Us
Elliott Hurrell
Director of Clerking
Areas Of Expertise
Flora has experience in a wide range of public and human rights law matters. She has acted in both the High Court, the County Court, and the Upper Tribunal. She has experience in complex claims related to human rights, discrimination, equality law, and data protection.
Flora has a particular interest in the law relating to health and social care, human rights and civil liberties, and the intersection between human rights and climate change.
Cases of Note
- PQ v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2026] UKUT 00001 (AAC) – Flora acted for the Appellant in an appeal against a decision that she had not been entitled to income-based Jobseekers’ Allowance during two periods in which she acted as a surrogate, and received payments for expenses associated with the surrogacy. The case concerned the correct interpretation of various provisions of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996. It provided important judicial clarification of the way in which surrogacy payments should be treated for the purposes of the legacy benefits, an issue which has not previously been addressed by either the courts or by Government guidance. Judgment
- Acting on behalf of an Integrated Care Board in a judicial review claim brought against a decision not to award continuing healthcare (CHC) to the claimant.
- Acting on behalf of an NHS Foundation Trust in a challenge brought against a Child Protection Plan put in place by a local authority under section 47 of the Children Act 1989.
- Acting on behalf of a claimant in an urgent judicial review application challenging a local authority’s assessment of her and her baby under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, and its consequent decision to withdraw accommodation and support.
- Whitehouse v Secretary of State for Justice – Flora was instructed by the Secretary of State for Justice to respond to an application for permission to apply for judicial review brought by a prisoner who alleged that the Secretary of State’s decision to depart from Parole Board recommendations was unreasonable.
- R (Plan B Earth) v Prime Minister [2021] EWHC (Admin) – Flora acted as junior counsel to Richard Honey KC and Ned Westaway responding to a challenge brought against the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer by Plan B Earth and four individual claimants. The claim raised questions concerning whether the Government’s overall compliance with the Climate Change Act 2008, the Paris Agreement breached the Claimants’ rights under Articles 2, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Judgment
Flora has particular expertise in environmental law, advising regularly on domestic and international environmental law. She acts for both NGOs, local interest groups, and central Government. Many of her cases have involved novel and complex environmental issues. Flora has a particular interest in climate change, the protection of habitats and species, marine protection, and environmental assessment. She also has experience of acting statutory nuisance appeals in the Magistrates’ Courts.
Until recently Flora was on secondment to the Office for Environmental Protection. She gained experience across the range of the OEP’s work, including complaints and investigations into breaches of environmental law, the monitoring of environmental law, and interventions in judicial and statutory review proceedings. She is currently undertaking a secondment with Ofgem’s Delivery & Schemes unit.
Cases of Note
- R (Theberton and Eastbridge Action Group on Sizewell Limited) v Office for Nuclear Regulation – Flora was instructed by the Office for Nuclear Regulation as junior counsel to Rose Grogan in a challenge to a nuclear site licence granted by the ONR to Sizewell C Ltd. The licence permits Sizewell C Ltd. to install and operate a nuclear power station comprised of two nuclear reactors. The challenge was dismissed as totally without merit by the High Court at the permission stage, and that decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
- R (Friends of the Earth Ltd) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2022] EWHC 1841 – Flora acted as junior counsel to Richard Honey KC and Ned Westaway responding to three landmark challenges to the Net Zero Strategy, published by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The case was the first to interpret ss.13-14 of the Climate Change Act.
Judgment - R (Plan B Earth) v Prime Minister [2021] EWHC (Admin) – Flora acted as junior counsel to Richard Honey KC and Ned Westaway responding to a challenge brought against the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer by Plan B Earth and four individual claimants. The claim raised questions concerning the Government’s overall compliance with the Climate Change Act 2008, the Paris Agreement, and Articles 2, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Judgment
Flora has acted for parents, local authorities and universities in a range of school and higher education matters. She has experience acting in the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), and has advised and acted in cases proceeding in the Upper Tribunal and the High Court.
Flora’s recent instructions include:
- Acting for a local authority in a claim alleging that it had breached its duties under s.19 of the Education Act 1996 and Article 2 of the First Protocol to the ECHR.
- Acting for a parent in an EHCP appeal, during which the local authority consented to name the parent’s preferred placement.
- Acting for a local authority an EHCP appeal. The key issue in the case was whether the child should attend a specialist school for the deaf, or a mainstream school with a hearing resource base.
- Advising on whether to appeal an FTT decision on an EHCP appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
- Acting for a university in a claim brought against it by a student, following the University’s decision to withdraw her from her course due to non-payment of tuition fees.
Flora is regularly instructed in the Court of Protection on behalf of local authorities, integrated care boards, and family members. She has particular experience in health and welfare work. Her recent instructions include appearing in applications concerning deprivations of liberty, applications to deprive individuals of lasting power of attorney under section 22 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and cases concerning contact restrictions between P and family members.
Flora has been instructed in several statutory and non-statutory public inquiries. She also has experience appearing at inquest hearings. Her recent instructions include the following:
- Nottingham inquiry – Flora is currently instructed by Nottingham Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in a statutory inquiry into Valdo Calocane’s attacks in Nottingham City Centre on 13 June 2023, during which he killed three people and seriously injured another three people.
- Inquest into the death of Soviya Rajaratnam – Flora represented the London Borough of Croydon at a pre-inquest review hearing.
- Cranston Inquiry – Flora was instructed by the Secretary of State for Transport to assist in a non-statutory public inquiry into an incident on 24 November 2021, in which at least 27 people died attempting to cross the Channel in a small boat.
Flora has a busy planning practice. She acts for a range of clients including local government, landowners, developers, and local authorities.
Flora has experience bringing and resisting planning statutory and judicial review claims. She also has experience appearing at planning inquiries. She has acted as sole and junior counsel in planning inquiries and local plan examinations, representing local authorities, rule six parties, and developers.
Flora has particular experience in planning cases raising environmental issues, including the need for renewable energy, EIA, carbon emissions, impacts on habitats, BNG, and flooding.
Flora has advised on and appeared in enforcement proceedings.
Cases of Note
- Truman Brewery planning inquiry – Flora was instructed by a rule 6 party to appear at a 12-day planning inquiry into three applications for planning permission, and an application for listed building consent, for development on Brick Lane.
- R (Clarke Holland) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3140 (Admin) – Flora acted as junior counsel to Richard Honey KC at the permission stage, representing the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in an application for permission to challenge an EIA screening direction relating to the use of Wethersfield Airfield as temporary asylum seeker accommodation.
Judgment - Solar farm inquiries – Flora has experience acting for both rule 6 parties and local authorities in planning inquiries, resisting the development of land for the provision of Solar Photovoltaic Farms.
