Lucy Bennett represented the father in the mother’s appeal against the decision of a circuit judge not to hold a fact-finding hearing and to order interim contact.

The judgment of Mr Justice MacDonald serves as a helpful reminder of the appropriate application of the principles as set out by the Court of Appeal in Re H-N (Children) (Domestic Abuse: Finding of Fact Hearings) [2021] EWCA Civ 448 and K v K [2022] EWCA Civ 468, in particular in setting out the questions that must be actively engaged with by the court where a fact-finding hearing is being considered [65].