Climate camp activists win massive victory as police admit their actions were unlawful

Kent Police have finally admitted their policy of stop and searching climate activists at Kingsnorth power station during the week long protest in 2008 was not lawful and have agreed to pay compensation to three people who challenged the action in the High Court.

Back in January 2010 The High Court ruled in favour of the claimants, including well known London activist Dave Morris, of Haringey Solidarity Group, and two children, that the controversial mass search operation by Kent police went beyond the realms of legality.

This week, The Chief Constable of Kent Police went further, admitting that the entire stop-and-search operation was a violation of the public’s human rights to privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of association. The Chief Constable has now agreed to put this admission in a letter to the 25 other police forces involved in the Kingsnorth operation, in which he also notes that “lessons must be learned” He will also write a letter of apology to the three claimants.

It is now clear that the estimated 3,500 searches that took place that week were also unlawful and solicitors are investigating the possibility for others to claim compensation.

The solicitor acting for Mr. Morris and the two children commented: “Kent Police has been forced to make a remarkable admission. It is that the outcome of one of the most expensive policing operations ever in the UK was a massive violation of the human right to protest. That human rights breaches occurred on this scale, were not identified by the two internal police investigations into the operation, and ultimately had to be exposed by the activist and two tenacious children and who brought this case says something very worrying about policing of peaceful protest about vital issues like climate change.”

The week-long family-friendly public camp, organised by Climate Camp in the summer of 2008, involved extensive discussions and workshops, collective sustainable living, protests and direct action against government plans to expand coal-fired energy production in the light of its disastrous contribution to greenhouse gases and climate change. The power station’s expansion plans have since been suspended.

The case was won despite police efforts to deny there was any systematic stop and search policy at the camp. Their position collapsed after a key document came to light that revealed the police ‘bronze commanders’ in charge of the operation at Kingsnorth were systematically giving briefings for blanket stop and searches.