Woman seeking legal aid for psilocybin…

R (EB) v Director of Legal Aid Casework [2026] EWHC 402 (Admin)

The claimant, known as EB, has suffered most of her life from anorexia nervosa but has recently benefitted from participation in a medical trial of psilocybin. She now wishes to make an unprecedented application to the Home Office for a licence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to allow her to be administered psilocybin by medical professionals (it is otherwise a proscribed drug). Susie Allegre, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, held that the refusal of legal aid for the purpose of making the application to the Home Office engaged article 8 ECHR. The judge held that the Director of Legal Aid Casework had erred in his assessment of whether legal aid was necessary to avoid a breach of the Claimant’s article 8 rights and in his assessment of the benefit to the client.

Alex Goodman KC acted for the Claimant, instructed by Tamara Smillie, Consultant at Duncan Lewis.

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