Acland Burghley schoolchildren mount court challenge over 10 hour ‘kettling imprisonment' by Met Police

Published: 09 June 2011
by TOM FOOT

HE is taking his Latin GCSE exam today (Thursday) and maths tomorrow.

But next month, Adam Castle will be putting the Metropolitan Police to the test in the High Court.

The 16-year-old, his friend Sam Eaton and Adam’s younger sister Rosie – all pupils of Acland Burghley secondary school in Tufnell Park – are seeking a judicial review of the controversial police tactic of “kettling” children.

He said: “If we win, the police will have to admit the kettling of children was unjustified, take action to ensure it does not happen again and make an apology. It would be a real step forward.”

The three children were among thousands from Camden who attended the November 24 protest last year against government proposals to allow universities to treble entrance fees to £9,000 a year.

Adam, who lives in Tufnell Park, said it was only the second time he had been on a protest and he had got consent from his parents and the school before going. But the pupils soon found themselves “imprisoned” by police who “kettled” them for 10 hours with little food or water.

He added: “Loads of my friends don’t go on protests anymore because of kettling. I still go, but when I see police I stay away from them.”

His solicitor, Michael Oswald, from Bhatt Murphy law firm, said the challenge would be heard in a two-day hearing on July 5. 

He added: “Police have obligations towards under-18s and there should be a very high threshold when they are considering kettling them.”

Thousands of schoolchildren flooded out of Camden schools to join the protest  in November.

Cllr Andrew Mennear, leader of Camden’s Conservatives, described the day of action as “organised truancy”, adding: “It is arguable that police saved these children from violence by kettling them. There was a crush, there was violence. It is entirely justified. If it had not been for kettling the protest could have got very ugly.”

But Labour councillor Abdul Hai, Town Hall community safety chief, said: “We need more debate on policing and how these things are enforced and so I applaud what these children are doing. If they feel they have been disproportionately handled they should challenge it. It is good they are going about it in the right way.

“But we have to strike a balance between people expressing views in an open society and the very difficult job police have in ensuring that does not impact on the wider population.” The Met would not comment until after the hearing.