The Little Mix court case: The story so far

A concert promoter for the girl group Little Mix is to be taken to court on Thursday, after a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter wasn’t provided for the support acts during a concert in September 2017.

The case is the latest court hearing to focus on the right for Deaf people to access BSL interpreters. Earlier this month the UK Government appeared in court over its failure to provide an in-person interpreter for their coronavirus press conferences.

Registration for Thursday and Friday’s sessions is now closed, but The Limping Chicken‘s Liam O’Dell will once again be providing updates on Twitter, followed by a full article once the proceedings have concluded.

In the meantime, below is the story so far, right from the very start.

The claimants

Deaf mum Sally Reynolds had booked tickets to the concert, which took place at the South of England Event Centre in Sussex, together with friends Sarah Cassandro and Vikki Nelson. Their daughters, who accompanied them, are hearing.

As a result, the three parents requested a BSL interpreter in order to enjoy the show, as a “reasonable adjustment” under the Equality Act 2010. It took an injunction by legal firm Fry Law – who also represent Katie in the #WhereIsTheInterpreter case – for them to provide BSL access, after it was initially suggested that Sally bring an interpreter with her via a carer ticket.

The interpreter was only available for the main performance by Little Mix, however, and not for support acts Ella Eyre and Germein (then known as the Germein Sisters).

A crowdfunder was set up on the fundraising site CrowdJustice to provide financial protection should they need to pay the defendant’s £100,000 legal fees. It currently stands at just over £10,000.

The defendants

The promoter was LHG Live Limited. In a statement to BBC News in 2018, the company said: “We received a request from Sally Reynolds to supply an interpreter.

“We consulted with her recommended agency and agreed to provide the professional interpreter of her choice for the Little Mix show.

“This included specific staging and lighting, and a set list in advance.”

Although the company was then known as LHG Live Limited, according to the Companies House register, the firm later changed its name to Live in the UK Limited. This company went into liquidation last year, with a voluntary liquidator appointed in August 2020.

The Limping Chicken understands that the defendants will not be in court to make their case on Thursday and Friday, meaning that it will be the claimant’s barrister and selected witnesses present at the hearing.

The court case

While barrister Catherine Casserley and solicitor Chris Fry (of Fry Law) will now not be paid for their work on the almost four-year long case, the parents and their legal team are still going ahead with the court case.

Writing in an update on their Crowdjustice page in February, the three mothers said: “Chris and Cathy have built a very strong legal case – they are confident it should succeed in legal terms. They believe that continuing to a shortened trial will help to get a judgment which explores the legal issues and hopefully shows that a BSL/English interpreter should be provided.

“If we can get a judgment in our favour, then this will give deaf people something they can send to organisations to show that there is legal backing and that we will stand up for our access rights.”

In other words, the positive judgment would set a legal precedent, meaning the courts would be minded to make the same decision should a similar case come before the court.

“This is a really great opportunity for the Deaf community to see and be involved with enforcing deaf rights led by the talented Catherine Casserley,” Chris tweeted on Saturday.

The proceedings will take place from 10:30am to 4pm on Thursday, and run for a half-day on Friday, when it is expected that District Judge Avent of Central London County Court will issue his judgment.

Photo: Marcen27/Flickr.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.