Court

HANNINGFIELD SPECIAL REPORT:
Essex Police Treatment of Hanningfield Was Unlawful
Weds 20th Feb 2013, Yellow Advertiser

LORD Hanningfield has called for changes to Essex Police procedure after a high court judge ruled the force had unlawfully arrested him.

Mr Justice Eady ordered the force to pay damages to the former Essex Council leader after a two-day trial at the Royal Courts of Justice.

The judge agreed with the peer that his arrest on September 14, 2011, by police investigating his council expenses, was not necessary.

The investigation was dropped in November after Britain's leading fraud squad found no proof he had done anything wrong.

In court, the Hanningfield's barrister Rupert Bowers said police had come up with 'fanciful' reasons to arrest the peer so they could search his house.

He said they had done so in the knowledge that their case was insufficient to secure a search warrant.

Lead investigator DCI Keith Davies admitted on the stand that he had not believed his case would meet the criteria for a warrant, so had begun plotting Hanningfield's arrest instead.

Mr Justice Eady accepted that police had acted in good faith but ruled that Hanningfield's arrest and subsequent detention at Braintree police station had been unlawful.

He said: “The requirement of necessity as laid down by parliament has not, on any realistic interpretation of the word, been met.”

He ruled that Hanningfield and Essex Police should come to an agreement on an acceptable amount of damages.

Hanningfield's solicitor Mark Spragg said the parties had agreed on a sum of £3,500 plus the peer's legal costs.

However, Essex Police said it was 'disappointed' by the decision and was considering an appeal.

Mr Spragg said the trial had highlighted an important civil rights issue.

He said: “Lord Hanningfield is not above the law, but neither does he fall beneath it because of his conviction.

“The police are often too quick to arrest suspects and search premises without considering the alternatives.

“The police are given these special powers that ordinary citizens do not have but they owe a duty to the public to get the procedure, which is there as a protection to us all, right.”

Lord Hanningfield said he hoped the ruling would spark changes in police processes.

He said: “There seem to be a lot of cases coming out lately of police bending the rules, like the revelations about Hillsborough.

“They often seem to take the easy option, like picking on people who have a previous conviction.

“I know it's hard for the police because they have targets and things, but they need to get their processes right or they lose public confidence - and they need the public to help them solve crimes.”

He said he would give the £3,500 damages to the Helen Rollason Heal Cancer Charity in Chelmsford.

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