A chief constable has apologised to a journalist after she was wrongly arrested while covering a 'Just Stop Oil' protest.
Charlie Hall, who heads Hertfordshire Police, wrote to LBC reporter Charlotte Lynch, stating that "on this occasion we clearly got things wrong". The force received a wave of backlash after Ms Lynch described how she was handcuffed and left in a cell on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance - even though she showed officers her media accreditation.
Ms Lynch was reporting on the activists from a road bridge over junction 21 on the M25, in Hertfordhire, for roughly 45 minutes on November 8 when she was approached and questioned by two officers. Just a day before the incident, documentarian Rich Felgate and photographer Tom Bowles were arrested for trying to capture footage of the activists.
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It led to widespread outrage, with even the Prime Minister stressing the importance of press freedom while Chief Superintendent Jon Hutchinson, from Cambridgeshire Police, was called in to review the force's actions. Mr Hall’s letter said: “He ultimately concludes that your arrest was not justified and that changes in training and command need to be made.
“The review, however, found no evidence to indicate that officers engaged maliciously or deliberately behaved in a manner which fell below that expected of police officers. I fully accept, however, that we made mistakes we should not have made.”
He added: "Whilst policing public order incidents is fraught with difficulty and there was no malicious intent from my officers, on this occasion we clearly got things wrong. I recognise the significant impact that an arrest can have, and on behalf of my organisation, I am truly sorry.
“I hope the actions we have taken indicate how seriously we have taken this matter and our clear intent to prevent this from happening again in the future.”
Now, the force has carried out a review to ensure all public order officers have undergone awareness training about the work of the media, and an assessment of the number and experience of its public order commanders. Measures will also be brought in to ensure that commanders have access to public order advisers and mentors wen carrying out operations.
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