The police have new tactics and they’re not afraid to use them

Those attending the G20 protests this weekend have come back with complaints about the tactical manoeuvre employed by the police, known as 'kettling'.

The protestors had not been around the Bank of England very long - perhaps just an hour - before police sealed off all exits and prevented anyone else from joining them. More frustratingly for those within the cordon - including parents with their children - they were not allowed to leave.

politics.co.uk was at the protest and reported back similar concerns. It is, however, very difficult to get any information from the police about when and why the strategy is implemented.

Neither Acpo, nor the Met, nor Scotland Yard itself were willing to discuss the scenarios in which they activate the power.

But some information can be garnered from a legal case brought against the police by two people - one of them a protestor, one of them a member of the public - who were caught up in a similar operation during the May Day riots in 2001 around Oxford Circus.

One challenge asked whether the power was permissible at common law. This challenge failed at the Court of Appeal on the basis that it was permissible in order to prevent a breach of the peace.

The second asked whether it contravened article five of the European Convention of Human Rights, which guarantees the liberty of the person. The case went to the High Court before reaching the House of Lords. They ruled in January this year that the practise could not be described as detention because it was conducted in the interest of public safety.

Last Wednesday was the first real opportunity for the police to use the powers without legal concerns. Legal experts do, however, expect the case to be taken to Strasbourg, to the European Court of Human Rights.
The House of Lords judgement, which was contingent on public safety, opens up a wide array of situations in which the police can legitimately use the powers. After all, almost any demonstrations can potentially turn into a situation which threatens public safety. In this case, the police had a stronger case than usual - there had been rumours running up to the event that a small group of demonstrators would use the event as an excuse to provoke trouble.

But the growing consensus from those on the march - including parliamentary observers, journalists, and demonstrators themselves - is that the strategy carries overtones of criminalisation. Several people attending the protest said they felt as if they were being punished for being there.

The future of the strategy hangs on the outcome of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) inquiry into the death of Ian Tomlinson, a newsagent who appears to have been trapped in the standoff on his way home from work. Original reports indicated his death, from a heart attack, was entirely from natural causes. But new eyewitness reports suggest he may have been beaten by police in the moments leading to his collapse.

If the IPCC find his death was related to violence from police, the surrounding coverage will be such that the entire police operation that day will be brought in for public scrutiny. Some politicians, such as Liberal Democrat MP David Howarth, are already calling for a full inquest with a jury. If they find otherwise, it's very likely the tactic will not face sustained questioning until that potential case in Strasbourg.

Ian Dunt