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28/05/2012
Royal Wedding Protesters Put Police In Dock
A police force is facing questions about its conduct and policies during last year’s royal wedding.
Twenty individuals who were arrested or searched on April 29 2011 are challenging the legality of policing around the event.
They have asked the high court to rule that the Metorpolitan Police’s policy on the day was unlawful and violated citizens' right to protest.
Karon Monaghan QC said that her 15 clients were pre-emptively arrested on suspicion of being about to commit breaches of the peace.
They were held at police stations in London and released after Kate Middleton and Prince William kissed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Monaghan told the court that the rights breached were "elemental to a properly functioning democracy."
She said protesting was a "preciously guarded freedom" rather than an absolute right, but that the Met "operated a policy of equating intention to protest, whether perceived or actual, with intention to cause unlawful disruption".
Actions and policies revealed an "impermissibly low threshold of tolerance for public protest, resulting in the unlawful arrests of those who were viewed by officers as being likely to express anti-monarchist views," she said.
Lord Justice Richards, who alongside Mr Justice Openshaw is hearing the application for judicial review, said the court’s ruling would probably come too late to influence the policing of next week’s Diamond Jubilee.
But human rights groups say the case has implications for the Olympics in London.
(NE)
Twenty individuals who were arrested or searched on April 29 2011 are challenging the legality of policing around the event.
They have asked the high court to rule that the Metorpolitan Police’s policy on the day was unlawful and violated citizens' right to protest.
Karon Monaghan QC said that her 15 clients were pre-emptively arrested on suspicion of being about to commit breaches of the peace.
They were held at police stations in London and released after Kate Middleton and Prince William kissed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Monaghan told the court that the rights breached were "elemental to a properly functioning democracy."
She said protesting was a "preciously guarded freedom" rather than an absolute right, but that the Met "operated a policy of equating intention to protest, whether perceived or actual, with intention to cause unlawful disruption".
Actions and policies revealed an "impermissibly low threshold of tolerance for public protest, resulting in the unlawful arrests of those who were viewed by officers as being likely to express anti-monarchist views," she said.
Lord Justice Richards, who alongside Mr Justice Openshaw is hearing the application for judicial review, said the court’s ruling would probably come too late to influence the policing of next week’s Diamond Jubilee.
But human rights groups say the case has implications for the Olympics in London.
(NE)
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Criticism Over G20 "Kettling" Tactics
Police have been criticised for their handling of protesters and members of the public, during the G20 demonstrations, a parliamentary committee has said.
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Police have been criticised for their handling of protesters and members of the public, during the G20 demonstrations, a parliamentary committee has said.
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