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Arab News
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
British pro-Palestine protester launches legal action against police
LONDON: A pro-Palestine protester in the UK who was threatened with arrest under the Terrorism Act is taking legal action against the police force involved in the incident, The Guardian reported on Friday. Laura Murton, 42, had held up a Palestinian flag and signs saying 'Free Gaza' and 'Israel is committing genocide' at her demonstration in the city of Canterbury last month. Armed police who responded to the protest told Murton that she had expressed support for Palestine Action, the group banned in July and listed as a terrorist organization. Neither of Murton's signs mentioned Palestine Action, she told officers, who asked if she supported any proscribed organizations. 'I do not,' she responded. Murton's solicitors have issued a letter of claim to Kent police's chief constable, in what is viewed as a reminder of police responsibilities ahead of major pro-Palestine protests this weekend across the UK. Murton is seeking damages over the incident and will donate any compensation toward Palestinian causes. She is also requesting an apology and an overview of details that police officers recorded about the incident. Shamik Dutta of law firm Bhatt Murphy, which is representing Murton, said: 'The legal challenge is being brought because as matters stand our client has neither received any apology nor any acknowledgment that Kent police conduct has been unlawful. 'She has had no indication that no further action will be taken against her in relation to her protest on July 14 or that no further action will be taken against her if she wishes to engage in a materially similar protest in the future.' Murton filmed her encounter. One officer told her: 'Mentioning freedom of Gaza, Israel, genocide, all of that all come under proscribed groups, which are terror groups that have been dictated by the government.' He then claimed that the phrase 'free Gaza' indicated support for Palestine Action. Murton reluctantly provided her name and address to the officers, who had threatened her with arrest unless she did so.
The Guardian
08-08-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Pro-Palestine protester threatened with arrest takes legal action against Kent police
A protester who was threatened with arrest under the Terrorism Act for holding a Palestinian flag and having signs saying 'Free Gaza' and 'Israel is committing genocide' is taking legal action against the police force involved. Armed police told Laura Murton, 42, that her demonstration in Canterbury, Kent, last month expressed views supportive of Palestine Action, which was banned under terrorism legislation weeks earlier. Murton said neither of her signs mentioned Palestine Action. When asked directly whether she supported any proscribed organisations, she replied: 'I do not.' Her solicitors have now issued a letter of claim on her behalf to the chief constable of Kent police in what was also said to be a move to remind other police forces of their responsibilities when it comes to other peaceful protests by pro-Palestine demonstrators this weekend. Murton will be seeking damages and intends to donate any compensation to Palestinian causes, as well as an apology and details of what has happened to any information that the police recorded about her. Shamik Dutta from Bhatt Murphy, who is representing Murton, said: 'The legal challenge is being brought because as matters stand our client has neither received any apology nor any acknowledgment that Kent police conduct has been unlawful,. 'She has had no indication that no further action will be taken against her in relation to her protest on 14 July 2025 or that no further action will be taken against her if she wishes to engage in a materially similar protest in the future.' In the encounter last month, which Murton filmed, one officer told her: 'Mentioning freedom of Gaza, Israel, genocide, all of that all come under proscribed groups, which are terror groups that have been dictated by the government.' He went on to say that the phrase 'free Gaza' was 'supportive of Palestine Action', adding that it was an offence 'to express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation, namely Palestine Action is an offence under section 12(1A) of the Terrorism Act'. The officer told her she had committed that offence. The officers said they would arrest Murton unless she provided her name and address, which she reluctantly agreed to do. Kent police were approached for comment.
The Independent
27-06-2025
- The Independent
Teenager forced to expose herself in Met Police strip search says she may ‘never feel normal again'
A woman who was strip-searched by police when she was just 15 and forced to expose her intimate parts while on her period has said she does not know if she will ever 'feel normal again'. The black schoolgirl was inappropriately searched at a school in Hackney, east London, in 2020 after she was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis. A four-week tribunal found on Thursday that the two Metropolitan Police officers involved in the search, trainee detective constable Kristina Linge and Pc Rafal Szmydynski, were guilty of gross misconduct. They have both been dismissed without notice, while a third officer was found to have committed misconduct and given a final written warning. The victim, identified only as Child Q due to her age at the time of the incident, said she 'cannot go a single day without wanting to scream' since the incident. In a statement released via Bhatt Murphy Solicitors, she said: 'Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period. 'I can't go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again. But I do know this can't happen to anyone, ever again.' The victim did not speak during the tribunal. The woman's mother, who says she attended every day of the month-long tribunal, says though she is 'relieved' that the two officers have been found guilty, she believes the Met Police 'still has a huge amount of work to do … to win back the confidence of Black Londonders'. The tribunal was told how black children were more likely to be treated as adults and less vulnerable than their white peers. But neither race nor age were found to be a factor in how Child Q was treated. Commander Kevin Southworth, head of Public Protection in the Met Police's Frontline Policing team, described the strip-search of Child Q as 'truly regrettable'. "The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable,' he said. "We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened. Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence black communities across London have in our officers." The force said the schoolgirl was searched on 3 December 2020, when police were called after staff raised concerns that she smelled strongly of cannabis and may have been in possession of drugs. Two female officers conducted a more thorough search of the girl, which exposed intimate parts, in the medical room at the school, according to police, but no appropriate adult was present. No drugs were found. The Children's Commissioner's latest report revealed that a child was strip searched every 14 hours between January 2018 and June 2023, with official data suggesting an appropriate adult was not present in 45 per cent of searches. Lynn Perry, chief executive of children's charity Barnardo's, said: 'It's deeply worrying that strip searching children is so common, so frequently done without proper safeguarding, and that Black children are four times more likely to be strip searched than children from other backgrounds. 'It's essential that policing is done with respect and safety, and that children and young people can trust the criminal justice system.'
The Independent
26-06-2025
- The Independent
‘I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again' Child Q says over strip search
A black woman who was strip-searched by two Metropolitan Police officers after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis when she was a schoolgirl said she does not know if she is 'going to feel normal again'. The woman, known as Child Q, was 15 years old and on her period when she was searched at school by officers in Hackney, east London on in December 3 2020 On Thursday, a disciplinary panel found Pc Kristina Linge and Pc Rafal Szmydynski had committed gross misconduct during the 'disproportionate' and 'humiliating' incident, and the officers were dismissed from the force without notice. The 'traumatic' search involved the removal of Child Q's clothing, including her underwear, her bending over and having to expose intimate parts of her body, the police disciplinary panel heard. In a family statement released by Bhatt Murphy Solicitors after the hearing, Child Q said: 'Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period. 'I can't go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. 'I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again. But I do know this can't happen to anyone, ever again.' Child Q's mother said the Metropolitan Police has a 'huge amount' of work to do if they are to win back the confidence of black Londoners. In the statement, she said: 'Professionals wrongly treated my daughter as an adult and as a criminal, and she is a changed person as a result. 'Was it because of her skin? Her hair? Why her? 'After waiting more than four years I have come every day to the gross misconduct hearing for answers, and although I am relieved that two of the officers have been fired, I believe that the Metropolitan Police still has a huge amount of work to do if they are to win back the confidence of black Londoners.' The tribunal heard authorisation was not sought for the intimate search, which left Child Q feeling 'demeaned' and 'physically violated'. An appropriate adult was not present, a key safeguard of a child's rights, and the girl's mother was not told of the situation. A third officer – Pc Victoria Wray – was given a final written warning after her involvement on the day was found to amount to misconduct. She was a 24-year-old probationary officer at the time and arrived at the scene after the key decisions had been made. Panel chairman Commander Jason Prins said: 'There has been enormous harm to Child Q and significant harm to the community in trusting the police.' Earlier he had described the incident as 'a disastrous and negative interaction' between police and a black teenager, but said race had not been the reason why Child Q was treated so badly. The search was 'disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary', and it was 'humiliating' for the child and made her feel 'degraded'. Commander Prins said 'this is a case where officers adopted a simplistic approach' to a sensitive matter and they did not follow the training they were given. Authorisation was not sought and the situation 'cried out for advice and input', he added. Child Q did not give evidence at the four-week hearing 'because of the psychological effects that this strip search has had on her', the panel heard. Outrage over Child Q's treatment led to protests outside Stoke Newington police station in north London, after a safeguarding review found she had arrived at school for a mock exam and was taken to the medical room to be strip-searched while teachers remained outside. After the misconduct panel finding, Amanda Rowe, director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which brought the case, said of the officers: 'Their decision to strip-search a 15-year-old at school on suspicion of a small amount of cannabis was completely disproportionate. 'They failed to follow the policies that exist to ensure that children in these situations have appropriate protective measures in place.' Teachers had already searched Child Q's blazer, shoes and school bag, and no drugs were found. The school's safeguarding deputy had called police, amid fears Child Q could have been carrying drugs for someone, being exploited or groomed in the community, which meant it was a safeguarding issue for her and other school pupils. Pc Szmydynski took a 'leading role' in the actions that day, including calling for a second female officer to attend, in line with a more intimate search taking place. Pc Linge told Child Q she would be arrested if she did not consent to being searched. Pc Szmydynski was 39 and had more than 13 years policing experience at the time of the search, after becoming a police community support officer in 2007 and a constable in November 2014. Pc Linge was 41 and had joined the force in August 2018. Child Q told Pcs Linge and Wray, who searched her, that she was menstruating, but the search continued, during which her sanitary pad was exposed. When no drugs were found after the strip search, Child Q's hair was also scoured. With no adult present, the teenager was alone and had no help during her conversations with police, or when the decision was made to perform a strip search. No consideration was given as to whether the search could have been moved to Child Q's home, a police station or if it needed to happen at all, according to Commander Prins. It was suggested the police felt the safeguarding deputy, who had accepted in her evidence to feeling 'Child Q was stoned', was acting as the appropriate adult. But Commander Prins added: 'Child Q's mother was a strong choice to be an appropriate adult and, equally, a member of staff who had not been involved in the incident.' The hearing was also told that Metropolitan Police officers get no further updates on stop and search after initial training, and the training on conducting searches in schools was described as 'insufficient'. After the hearing, Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth told the PA news agency: 'I think we should start by offering our sincerest and deepest apologies again to Child Q for what happened that day and also to her family, her friends, the community, and everyone affected by this terrible incident. 'We understand the distress it must've caused within the community and on Child Q herself and hopefully we can reassure people that we've transformed our approach to stop and search since this time in order to make sure that something like this never happens again.' He had also said: 'While the officers involved did not act correctly, we acknowledge there were organisational failings. 'Training to our officers around strip-search and the type of search carried out on Child Q was inadequate, and our oversight of the power was also severely lacking. 'This left officers, often young in service or junior in rank, making difficult decisions in complex situations with little information, support, or clear resources to help their decision-making.'
