Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police (Respondent) v Woodcock (Appellant)

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2025/0107

Parties

Appellant(s)

ESSENGUL WOODCOCK

Respondent(s)

THE CHIEF CONSTABLE OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE POLICE

Issue

Whether the police were under a duty of care to prevent the occurrence of harm to the Appellant because they had a special level of control over the source of the danger and/or because they had assumed a responsibility to protect the Appellant from the danger.

Facts

In March 2015, Ms Esengul Woodcock was attacked and seriously injured by her former partner Riza Guzelyurt. The Appellant and her family members had been threatened and followed on multiple occasions by Guzelyurt prior to the attack and the Appellant had been in regular contact with the police about her and her family’s safety. On the morning of the attack, the Appellant’s neighbour telephoned the police to inform them that Guzelyurt was loitering nearby. The police did not notify the Appellant of this information. Following the attack, the Appellant brought proceedings against the Respondent, alleging that the police owed her a duty of care to protect her from an attack, and were in breach of that duty. In the County Court, Judge Murdoch dismissed the Appellant’s claim, finding that no such duty of care existed. On appeal to the High Court, Ritchie J concluded that there were exceptional circumstances which gave rise to a common law duty on the Respondent to telephone the Appellant once the police received the neighbour’s information. Ritchie J found that the Respondent had assumed a responsibility to warn the Appellant if information was provided to the police as it was in this case, and that the Respondent had breached the duty by failing to warn the Appellant. The Respondent appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal allowed the Respondent’s appeal, finding that there was no basis on which the Respondent could be held to have come under the duty of care which was alleged. The Appellant now appeals to the UK Supreme Court.

Date of issue

4 July 2025

Case origin

PTA

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