On Friday 4 October 2019, Mr Justice Warby granted a Group Litigation Order (‘GLO’), paving the way for many thousands of claimants to bring legal action against British Airways arising out of the well-publicised breach of its website and mobile app which resulted in the theft of customers’ personal data. David Blayney QC, Sophie Holcombe, and Sophia Hurst act for the largest group of claimants, represented by the Lead Solicitors under the GLO, SPG Law.

In July 2019 the ICO published a notice of its intention to fine BA a record £183.39 million for breaches of data protection law caused by poor security arrangements, estimating that the data of over 500,000 customers were compromised in the incident. However, the fine does not compensate individual claimants in respect of the breach, who may be entitled to compensation under the GDPR. To date, around 6,000 claimants are represented in the Group action.