“The attorney general is considering asking the courts to clamp down on high-profile, direct-action protests on issues such as climate change, the Guardian can exclusively reveal.”
The Guardian, 18th December 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A prominent animal rights activist accused of planting petrol bombs at Oxford University was yesterday cleared of possessing an explosive substance – packets of sparklers – with intent.”
The Guardian, 7th November 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Models wearing chains, stockings and gags have been led around Westminster in protest at laws to make owning ‘extreme pornography’ illegal.”
BBC News, 21st October 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Tamsin Omond, the aristocratic founder of the environmentalist campaign group that tried to break into the Houses of Parliament on Monday evening, narrowly escaped jail yesterday after a judge decided not to keep her on remand despite a breach of bail conditions which forbade her from going near Westminster.”
The Independent, 15th October 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“When is a demonstration not a demonstration? That effectively is the intriguing question that the most senior judges in the country will have to decide next week, writes the BBC’s Clive Coleman.”
BBC News Magazine, 13th October 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A police force has offered £40,000 in compensation to animal rights campaigners, including supporters of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), after they were prevented from joining a protest against livestock exports.”
The Independent, 25th September 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Six Greenpeace activists have been found not guilty of causing criminal damage during a protest in Kent.”
BBC News, 10th September 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Regina (Wood) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Queen’s Bench Division
“Taking and retaining photographs of someone engaged in a political protest or demonstration was not unlawful and did not infringe his human rights.”
The Times, 13th June 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“Bereaved families have marched in London to demand tougher sentencing for the perpetrators of violent crime.”
BBC News, 12th June 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Anti-war campaigners said today that they would defy a ban on a planned march to Downing Street at the weekend to protest at the visit by the US president, George Bush.”
The Guardian, 10th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Police-ordered photography of an anti-arms trade protester did not breach the protester’s privacy rights, the High Court has ruled. It is one of the few times that such alleged intrusion by the state rather than the media has been the subject of a UK ruling.”
OUT-LAW.com, 2nd June 2008
Source: www.out-law.com
“The police force that issued a teenager with a court summons for calling Scientology a cult could face a judicial review over the legality of its policing guidelines.”
The Guardian, 28th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A teenager is facing prosecution for using the word ‘cult’ to describe the Church of Scientology.”
The Guardian, 20th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Bloody Sunday inquiry faced its 10-year anniversary this month with a scathing verdict from the profession after senior lawyers strongly criticised the inquiry for waste, having swallowed nearly £100m in legal costs.”
Legal Week, 10th April 2008
Source: www.legalweek.com
Regina (Tabernacle) v Secretary of State for Defence
Queen’s Bench Divisional Court
“A ban on innocuous activities on publicly accessible land owned by the Ministry of Defence was unlawful.”
The Times, 9th April 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“A controversial ban on protests outside the Houses of Parliament will be scrapped by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith this week in a symbolic victory for freedom of speech campaigners.”
The Observer, 23rd March 2008
Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
“Three men jailed for their part in protests against cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad have won an appeal to reduce their sentences.”
BBC News, 30th October 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Police had good defence to unlawful detention claim
Austin and Another v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Court of Appeal
“It was lawful only in extreme and exceptional circumstances for the police to contain demonstrators and members of the public caught up in that demonstration who themselves did not appear to be about to commit a breach of the peace. Containment was lawful only where it was necessary to prevent others from committing an imminent breach of the peace and there was no other way to achieve that.”
The Times, 29th October 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Austin and another v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
“In extreme and exceptional circumstances it was lawful for the police to contain demonstrators and members of the public caught up in that demonstration even though they themselves did not appear to be about to commit a breach of the peace, where it was necessary to prevent an imminent breach of the peace by others, and no other means would achieve that.”
WLR Daily, 18th October 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note: once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Two fathers’ rights campaigners who handcuffed former children’s minister Margaret Hodge during a protest were cleared yesterday of false imprisonment. Fathers4Justice activists Jonathan Stanesby, 41, and Jason Hatch, 35, shackled the MP for Barking during a family law conference at the Lowry hotel in Salford in 2004.”
The Guardian, 4th October 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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