Barney McCay

Public and Administrative

Barney has a broad public law practice and is on the EHRC’s panel of counsel. He has been instructed in matters concerning human rights, local government, education, information and data protection, social security, immigration and post-Brexit EU law. He regularly advises on public law matters that engage other areas of law, such as protest rights, public procurement and subsidy control.

Barney’s recent/work includes:

• WRC v SSWP (ongoing) – a proposed JR of the DWP’s use of artificial intelligence to detect fraud and error in social security claims and payments (instructed by PLP and led by Tim Buley KC).
  
• BESA v SSE (ongoing) – a JR of DfE’s decision to make various educational resources available online and free to use in schools (led by Alan Bates).
  
• XYZ v DBS (ongoing) – an appeal before the Court of Appeal on the application of the res judicata principle to appeals against DBS decisions before the UT (led by Samantha Broadfoot KC).
  
• Simkova v SSWP [2024] EWCA Civ 419 – an appeal concerning the UK’s obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement (led by Julia Smyth). PTA to the Supreme Court has been granted.
  
• Croydon LBC v Imam (Crisis intervening) [2023] UKSC 45 – a strategic intervention before the Supreme Court that concerned local authorities’ homelessness duties (acting for Crisis and led by Justin Bates KC).
  
• R (Clarke-Holland) v SSHD [2023] EWHC 3140 (Admin) – a JR of the Home Secretary’s use of a former RAF airfield to accommodate asylum seekers (led by Alex Goodman KC).
  
• IGT v Gambling Commission [2023] EWHC 1961 (TCC) – a challenge to the Gambling Commission’s award of the national lottery licence, raising EU and WTO law issues (led by Sarah Hannaford KC).
  
• R (The Humane League UK) v SSEFRA [2023] EWHC 1243 (Admin) – a JR of Defra’s policy on “fast growing chickens” (led by Richard Turney KC).
  
• A School v Ofsted (2023) – a JR arising from an Ofsted inspection (led by Fiona Scolding KC). 
  
• ZN v SSHD (PA/00168/2024) – an appeal against SSHD’s refusal of a claim for asylum (unled).

Barney was supervised by Julia Smyth during pupillage and gained experience of post-Brexit litigation (including advising on the Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol) and human rights challenges (including an Article 8 challenge to various abortion laws). Before joining Landmark, Barney carried out research at the Public Law Project.

Procurement and Subsidy Control

Barney has considerable experience in public procurement, competition and state aid matters.

Barney’s recent work includes:

• National Lottery Licence: Acting (with Sarah Hannaford KC, James Neill and Rose Grogan) in a high-profile public procurement challenge to the Gambling Commission’s award of the National Lottery licence. Press coverage here.

• "Fast-growing" chickens: Acting (with Richard Turney) in a challenge to Defra’s purported policy on the keeping of “fast-growing” chickens, which raises issues of competition law. Press coverage here.

• Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Advising on the state aid and procurement implications of an application for central government funding, including the relevance and interpretation of provisions of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

• Covid-19 procurement measures: Acting for contracting authorities seeking to recover payments made to suppliers during the covid-19 pandemic under central government procurement guidance.

• Local government contracts: Acting for a bidder challenging the award of a multi-million-pound contract to a rival business. The authority agreed to re-run the procurement exercise in response to pre-action correspondence.

During pupillage, Barney worked on a range of contentious and non-contentious matters. These included:

• Advising an economic operator in a dispute arising from a procurement exercise for waste disposal services

• Advising a contracting authority on the public procurement and state aid implications of a proposed land acquisition.

• Advising an economic operator challenging a procurement exercise in the regeneration sector

• Advising central government on the circumstances in which a procurement exercise needs to be conducted for agreements between contracting authorities.

Before joining Landmark, Barney won the Rosie Choueka Essay Prize (a competition run by the Procurement Lawyers’ Association) and took MBA courses on fiscal policy and subsidy control at Wharton. He also worked in competition, consumer and state aid policy for a national charity and helped coordinate its “super-complaint” to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Environment

Barney practises across all aspects of environmental law, and regularly appears in the High Court and at public inquiries. Barney is a co-convenor of a UKELA working group and a contributor to Garner’s Environmental Law.

Barney’s recent/current court work includes:

• Badger Trust and Wild Justice v Natural England (ongoing) – a JR of Natural England’s decision to issue licences for badger culling (led by David Wolfe KC).
  
• Caffyn v Shropshire Council (ongoing) – a JR (funded by River Action) of Shropshire Council’s decision to grant permission for an intensive poultry unit near the River Wye (led by David Wolfe KC).
  
• R (The Humane League UK) v SSEFRA [2023] EWHC 1243 (Admin) – a JR of Defra’s policy on “fast growing chickens” (led by Richard Turney KC).
  
• R (Clarke-Holland) v SSHD [2023] EWHC 3140 (Admin) – a JR of the Home Secretary’s use of a former RAF airfield to accommodate asylum seekers, which raised EIA issues (led by Alex Goodman KC).

Barney’s recent/current inquiry work includes:

• Curraghinalt Gold Project (2025) – a forthcoming inquiry that will consider a proposal for an underground gold mine in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland (led by David Elvin KC).
  
• Portland Energy Recovery Facility (2023) – a three-week inquiry that considered a proposed energy recovery facility on the Isle of Portland (unled).
  
• NW Bicester Ecotown (2023) – a one-week inquiry that examined a proposal for 530 dwellings in NW Bicester Ecotown (led by Zack Simons).

Planning

Barney practises across all aspects of planning law. He regularly appears in the High Court and at public inquiries.

Barney’s recent court work includes:

• Jones v Wrexham Council and Welsh Ministers (ongoing) – an appeal before the Court of Appeal about whether local authorities in Wales can decide not to adopt an LDP following examination (led by Andrew Parkinson).
  
• R (Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust) v Malvern Hills DC [2023] EWHC 1995 (Admin) – a JR concerning the circumstances in which NHS trusts are entitled to section 106 contributions to fund health services (led by Zack Simons).
  
• R (Clarke-Holland) v SSHD [2023] EWHC 3140 (Admin) – a JR of the Home Secretary’s use of a former RAF airfield to accommodate asylum seekers (led by Alex Goodman KC).
  
• Ariyo v Richmond LBC [2023] EWHC 2278 (Admin) and Richmond LBC v Ariyo [2024] EWCA Civ 960 – a JR of an authority’s grant of permission for restaurant development (unled in the High Court).
  
• Leicestershire CC v Miles [2024] EWHC 1782 (KB) – a High Court appeal against the grant of an injunction to restrain a breach of planning control (unled). 

Barney’s recent and current inquiry work includes:

• Curraghinalt Gold Project (2025) – a forthcoming inquiry that will consider a proposal for an underground gold mine in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland (led by David Elvin KC).
  
• Harold Wood Hospital (2024) – a two-week inquiry that considered a proposal to redevelop part of the Harold Wood Hospital site in Havering (led by Hashi Mohamed).
  
• Portland Energy Recovery Facility (2023) – a three-week inquiry that considered a proposed energy recovery facility on the Isle of Portland (in close proximity to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site), raising landscape, heritage, climate change, waste, noise and transport issues (unled).
  
• NW Bicester Ecotown (2023) – a one-week inquiry that examined a proposal for 530 dwellings in NW Bicester Ecotown (led by Zack Simons).
  
• Morning Mills Farm (2022) – a one-week inquiry that considered a proposed scheme comprising 700 homes, 8,600 square metres of employment floorspace, a school, medical centre, community facilities and infrastructure works (led by John Litton KC).

Procurement and Subsidy Control

Barney has considerable experience in public procurement, competition and state aid matters.

Barney’s recent work includes:

• National Lottery Licence: Acting (with Sarah Hannaford KC, James Neill and Rose Grogan) in a high-profile public procurement challenge to the Gambling Commission’s award of the National Lottery licence. Press coverage here.

• "Fast-growing" chickens: Acting (with Richard Turney) in a challenge to Defra’s purported policy on the keeping of “fast-growing” chickens, which raises issues of competition law. Press coverage here.

• Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Advising on the state aid and procurement implications of an application for central government funding, including the relevance and interpretation of provisions of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

• Covid-19 procurement measures: Acting for contracting authorities seeking to recover payments made to suppliers during the covid-19 pandemic under central government procurement guidance.

• Local government contracts: Acting for a bidder challenging the award of a multi-million-pound contract to a rival business. The authority agreed to re-run the procurement exercise in response to pre-action correspondence.

During pupillage, Barney worked on a range of contentious and non-contentious matters. These included:

• Advising an economic operator in a dispute arising from a procurement exercise for waste disposal services

• Advising a contracting authority on the public procurement and state aid implications of a proposed land acquisition.

• Advising an economic operator challenging a procurement exercise in the regeneration sector

• Advising central government on the circumstances in which a procurement exercise needs to be conducted for agreements between contracting authorities.

Before joining Landmark, Barney won the Rosie Choueka Essay Prize (a competition run by the Procurement Lawyers’ Association) and took MBA courses on fiscal policy and subsidy control at Wharton. He also worked in competition, consumer and state aid policy for a national charity and helped coordinate its “super-complaint” to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Cross-practice

Landmark's barristers often work at the intersection of our core practice areas; bringing a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience to bear on a particular dispute or issue facing a client.

Our focus is always on achieving the best possible outcome for our client. By viewing the client's objectives in a holistic way - and not purely through the lens of one rigidly-defined legal area - we deliver the best possible advice and representation in complex matters that engage multiple specialist areas of law. 

Whether it's providing support as an individual cross-practice barrister or a cross-disciplinary team of Landmark counsel, we are able to draw on an outstanding array of complementary skillsets and knowledge bases. This often achieves a better result than instructing multiple barristers from different specialist sets. This also improves the quality of client care through increased levels of communication, quicker response times, and a coordinated approach to clerking and fees, made possible by our team-based cross-practice approach.

Please contact our practice management team for more information.

Energy

EU Law post-Brexit

Local Government

Public Interest Litigation