Met Police pay £700k to anti-Tommy Robinson protesters after claims of spying & illegal detention

The Metropolitan Police has agreed to pay £729,000 ($927,000) in compensation to 153 so-called ‘anti-fascist’ protesters, who demonstrated against a 2013 EDL march led by Tommy Robinson, in an out-of-court settlement.

The force reportedly spied on the protesters by planting two undercover officers in their midst. 

“Their role was surveillance on a new and emerging anti-fascist movement – its size, structures, allies and prominent members,” said Kevin Blowe, coordinator of the Network for Police Monitoring. 

The EDL, which Robinson led at the time, had organized a march to a mosque in Tower Hamlets, east London, which the anti-fascist protesters believed was tantamount to deliberate provocation in a predominantely Asian and Muslim neighborhood. 

However, the protesters were arrested and detained for some 14 hours during which they claim they were prevented from using the toilet and denied access to food and water. 

The Met settled the claims without admitting liability, though the force also had to pay the legal costs of the campaigners. They were each paid roughly £5,000 ($6,360), while a further 28 campaigners have yet to have their claims resolved.

“The Met will neither confirm nor deny the deployment of undercover officers during any specific event or operation,” police said of the operation. “The covert nature of undercover policing is central to its effectiveness.”

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