Q&A: Sports Direct’s founder wins data dispute in the High Court

In Ashley v HMRC [2025] EWHC 134 (KB) Mike Ashley brought a claim against HMRC arising from an alleged breach of his data protection rights following the making of a tax closure notice. His claim succeeded but how did he get there?

What is data?

Data is any information relating to an individual and can include a wide variety of information including obvious categories of data such as blood type or eye colour but can also extend to descriptors including for a broader example the colour of one’s clothing.

The data in this case likely included details of Mr Ashley’s assets and the basis for the assessment of tax that HMRC rendered.

What are data protection rights?

The Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) document the data protection regime in the UK. They ensure that ‘personal data’ ...