London’s main police force could be sued by hundreds of people after judges ruled that it unlawfully banned protests by climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion during an “Autumn Uprising” in the capital in October.
Britain’s High Court ruled that police had no powers to impose a ban during the latter part of 10 days of protests that shut down areas around parliament, the country’s central bank and the capital’s transport networks.
The ban was imposed for the last four days of the protests and prohibited more than two people from gathering who were connected to the protest. The move followed a failed attempt to restrict the protests to Trafalgar Square during a protest that London’s Metropolitan Police said cost it more than £24 million.
One protester climbed to the top of Big Ben, the clock on the Houses of Parliament, while nearly 500 others were removed by officers after tying or sticking themselves to scaffolding and railings. One of the protests halted underground trains and sparked a backlash as angry commuters pulled protesters from the roofs of trains.
Lawyers who brought the case on behalf of the protesters said on Wednesday that the ruling clears the way for legal claims of false imprisonment by “potentially hundreds” of protesters who were arrested after the ban was imposed. More than 1,800 people were arrested during the ten days and 165 have been charged with criminal offences.
Jules Carey, a solicitor who represented Extinction Rebellion, said: “This judgment is a timely reminder to those in authority facing a climate of dissent; the right to protest is a long-standing fundamental right in a democratic society that should be guarded and not prohibited by overzealous policing.”
London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan who represents the opposition Labour party, had opposed the ban and said he had not been told by police about their plans. He was criticised by the ruling Conservatives for his failure to “back the police”.
Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave said: “The decision to apply the conditions on 14 October on the Extinction Rebellion 'Autumn Uprising' protest was not taken lightly.
“We will carefully consider today’s ruling”
