Protesters win £85k damages from Met
Updated on 29 April 2009
Scotland Yard is to pay £85,000 in damages to five protesters for assault and false imprisonment, it has emerged.
The news raises the prospect of similar action by G20 demonstrators.
Solicitor Tony Murphy told Channel 4 News that Met bosses reached an out-of-court settlement with the group for their treatment during a protest outside the Mexican Embassy in London in October 2006.
The force had to pay £85,000 in damages plus costs, leading to a total bill of more than £100,000, he said.
Mr Murphy, from Bhatt Murphy, told the programme: "This case concerned five protesters, the G20 involved hundreds if not thousands of protesters... a large number of whom, that we are seeing, who had their freedoms interfered with."
If successful legal action is taken by G20 demonstrators, the force could face a bill of hundreds of thousands of pounds, he said.
Mr Murphy, who represents the protesters, went on: "What this case shows is that the cost of policing protest unlawfully is extremely high not just in terms of the human cost to protesters, but also the cost to the public purse and the cost of public confidence in the police."
Channel 4 News reported that an unnamed DCI had written to the group apologising for their treatment and saying: "It is accepted that your arrest was unlawful and that any force used on you during your arrest was therefore an assault and battery."
Mr Murphy said that people who attended G20 protests had seen "systemic violence".
He said: "What we are seeing with the many G20 clients, that have instructed us, is serious systemic violence, not just the odd officer committing excessive force, but a systemic violence perpetuated against large number of people."
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the force had settled the claim and apologised in writing.
He said: "The MPS has agreed to settle a claim made by five individuals who issued a civil action for false imprisonment and assault on 30 October 2006.
"The decision was made as the MPS accepted that there was a breakdown in communication between two locally based officers leading to the unlawful arrest of five individuals.
"As the MPS accepts that the arrests in these cases were unlawful, any force used to enact this arrest is classed as assault. This is the reason for the acceptance of this further element of the claim."
No action has been taken against the officers involved because it was an "individual error", he said.
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