A theater group charged with impersonating police officers at the G20 protests are planning to sue the Metropolitan Police after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped all charges.
Their solicitor Raj Chada, called it a:
“…ridiculous case and the CPS' time and effort could have been better spent looking at bringing prosecutions for potential police misconduct.”
11 protesters, calling themselves the Space Hijackers and portraying themselves as the "laughing cavaliers of capitalism" were arrested after jumping out of a customised Alvis Saracen, complete with gun turret and the word "riot" emblazoned on it, outside the Bishopsgate offices of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
They were charged with impersonating police after driving a bright blue armoured car into the city.
They say they are now seeking compensation as well as the return of their vehicle and other equipment.
Thousands dressed in all manners of costumes, took to the streets of the nations financial district in East London on 1 April 2009.
"Bizarre prosecution"
In a statement the group called the case, which had four hearings, was one of the "most bizarre prosecutions mounted in a British court in recent years." Adding:
"We always refuted these ridiculous claims on the part of the police and the CPS and invited people to look over the past 10 years of our work, which the police were well aware of, to see that we have a long history of parody, dressing up and winding up the powers that be."
Dropped after "new information" arose
The CPS said it dropped the charges after it had received new information and no longer believed there was a realistic chance of a conviction.
London chief crown prosecutor Alison Saunders said additional evidence, combined with the fact that the individuals were part of a theatre group and that members of the public had thought it was a stunt were among the factors that had led to the case being dropped.
Those facing trial were Jessica Barter, 19, of Newham; Leah Borromeo, 30, of Brockley; Mohammed Hayder, 25, and Suzan Keen, 41, of Hackney; Paul Hardcastle, 23, and Stephen Jewkes, 29, of East Dulwich; David Parkhouse, 23, of Homerton, Robin Priestley, 32, of Aldgate; Stephen Gibbens, 21, of Milton Keynes; David Vannen, 38, of Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire and Rebecca Walpole, 21, of Seaforth Road, Aberdeen.
Previous protest pay outs
The Metropolitan Police previously forked out £85,000 to protesters it "assaulted."
They had been demonstrating outside the Mexican embassy in London in 2006 officers moved in - at the time the Met said there had been a "breakdown in communication" and "individual error" and no action was taken against the officers.
The solicitor Tony Murphy, who reached the out of court settlement for the five Mexican Embassy protesters, told Channel 4:
"This case concerned five protesters; the G20 involved hundreds if not thousands."
If successful legal action is taken by G20 demonstrators, the force could face a bill of hundreds of thousands of pounds."
Senior officers will be grilled by Mayor Boris Johnson and the Metropolitan Police Authority today at City Hall over how they handled the G20 protests.
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