London police accused of ‘kettling’ children

POLICE were accused at the High Court yesterday of unlawfully refusing to release children as young as 11 from a “kettle” during tuition fee protests.

Three teenagers are seeking damages for a breach of their human rights after being held without food and with very little water in Whitehall in London.

The three say they were contained, or kettled, by Metropolitan Police officers during the National Student Walkout anti-fees demonstration in Whitehall on November 24 last year.

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Adam Castle, 16, his sister Rosie, 15, and Sam Eaton, 16, all from north London, were among 10 friends who gathered with thousands of other students, lecturers and teachers in Trafalgar Square to march towards the Houses of Parliament.

As young demonstrators, many still in school uniforms, moved down Whitehall, they became trapped in the kettle.

Rosie was trapped for about six hours and the boys, who were in court today, for about seven-and-a-half hours.

Martin Westgate QC, appearing for all three, said: “The simple point here is there should have been a plan in place to release young children within the containment, unless there were good reasons not to do so – for example, there was a reason to suspect they were about to commit a breach of the peace.”

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He told Lord Justice Pitchford and Mr Justice Supperstone, sitting at London’s High Court, there was no suggestion that there was “a significant number of violent children” in the kettle.

Children were consistently asking to be released but not being permitted to leave.

Mr Westgate said “One 11-year-old was told to get back at a fairly late stage of the containment”, while another 11-year-old boy was certainly not released until after it had got dark.

Mr Westgate said he accepted the decision to impose the kettle was lawful because of police fears that breaches of the peace were imminent but the police operation became unlawful because of the failure to have a release plan communicated to the frontline officers.

The hearing continues today.

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