Dieselgate court case win

30th July 2025

Headlines from Air Quality News, The Times, The Ends Report, The Law Gazette and The Global Legal Post.

We are absolutely delighted to report that last Friday, the High Court ordered car manufacturers to release unredacted documents ahead of October’s Dieselgate trial, granting our application to the court in full.

As third parties, alongside Client Earth and the Scottish NOx Emissions Steering Group, we had applied for access to certain documents so that we and the general public can understand the environment and health impact of alleged Dieselgate defeat devices.

“Credible allegations of serious misconduct”

The Court found that the public should have access to the unredacted documents because of what appeared to be "credible allegations of serious misconduct" faced by the manufacturers.

As a result of this decision, any information about how the alleged defeat devices operate can now be discussed in open court at October's Dieselgate trial. There are still millions of diesel cars driving on our roads, and we are now one step closer to holding these car companies to account.

This is a victory for public transparency and open justice, and ultimately, for the lungs of all UK children!

A massive thank you to everyone involved in this campaign and case, including our amazing pro bono teams at Mishcon de Reya and Landmark Chambers, Client Earth, The Ella Roberta Foundation, Asthma and Lung UK, the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, Transport and Environment and Deutsche Umwelthilfe.

We couldn’t have done any of this without the hundreds of you who signed and shared our open letter, those who joined us at the Royal Courts of Justice in February and all the people who filled out our survey to tell us how you’re affected by pollution. THANK YOU!