My client, Audrey White was a prominent member of the Stop the War Coalition, an organisation known for lawful, peaceful, orderly and well stewarded demonstrations.
On Saturday 20 September 2008 Audrey participated in a protest in Manchester.
Audrey wanted to highlight the financial and human cost of the Iraq war. To this end she had had made a banner-sized “Bank of England” cheque payable to ‘Oil Companies and Arms Industry’ which bore as the sum paid to the text “Twelve billion pound, the blood of one million Iraqis and the deaths of 300 British soldiers.”
To make the political point that responsibility for the war in Iraq lay with the then Prime Minister the cheque was signed “Gordon Brown.”
Audrey had also purchased a rubber face mask of Gordon Brown for theatrical effect and to emphasise the abovementioned political point.
During the course of the demonstration, she and others wore the mask. At one point, Audrey was stopped by a female police officer who told her without giving any reason or explanation to take the mask off. Audrey of Greater Manchester Police asked why and stated that she did not think that it was against the law to wear a mask. The officer replied, “It is today.”
Audrey politely asked if she could see that in writing and explained that she had bought the mask on e-bay thinking lightly of the matter. She also observed that ‘It’s a free country and if I want to wear a mask I will.’
Without warning or explanation the officer then grabbed the mask and began to pull it with a firm grip of Audrey’s hair underneath it. Audrey was plunged into darkness and became disorientated. She was dragged a number of yards away from the body of the demonstration where she was pushed and pulled very roughly to the ground by this police officer and others until eventually, the officers succeeded in forcibly removing the mask from Audrey’s head.
On Audrey’s behalf, I brought a claim against Greater Manchester Police for assault and unlawful interference with and breach of her right to freedom of expression protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
After the institution of Court proceedings, Audrey’s claim was settled for damages of £4,000 plus legal costs and a written apology from Greater Manchester Police.
Also read: Stop the War Campaigner compensated following Police assault.
