Information for those at protests

We have been contacted by many people who attended protests recently and we are currently acting for a number of protesters. If you are concerned about what happened to you at a protest and think that you may have been subjected to unlawful treatment by the police, please see the information sheets below:

• Time limits for taking a case 
• Information that may be useful in assessing whether there is any viable civil claim 
• Information Sheet: The Police Complaints System
• IPCC Complaint Form

People who have been treated unlawfully by the police are likely to have two main options: bringing an ordinary civil claim to seek compensation for the consequences of what happened to them (such as physical injuries or serious psychological damage) as a result of individual officers' conduct; and participating in a judicial review to challenge the legality of the way the protest was policed (by 'kettling' large numbers of people, for example). Complaints about the police's actions can be made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. But it has no power to award compensation or rule that the police have acted unlawfully.

Our Crime department has extensive experience of defending protesters who have been accused of committing a criminal offence.

For more information about your rights, please click here. To meet the protest legal team, please click here.