Photographer sues police
Marc Vallée getting treatment in Parliament Square before being loaded into an ambulance and taken to hospital © Jess Hurd
A press photographer who claims he was hospitalised by a police officer while covering an anti-war demonstration is now suing the Met.
Veteran photographer Marc Vallee was covering the 'Sack Parliament' protest on 09 October last year when he alleges he was injured by police officers, and had to receive treatment by ambulance workers before being taken to St Thomas' Hospital.
The photographer has opted to take legal action and his solicitor firm, Hickman & Rose, has served papers on Sir Ian Blair, the commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, for battery and breaches of the Human Rights Act, relating to freedom of expression and assembly. He is believed to have both video and photographic evidence. If this civil action is not resolved, the Met could face a court battle.
Vallee is a member of both the National Union of Journalists and the British Press Photographers' Association, and the former has been vocal in its support of his case.
In a statement on the organisation's website, NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear says: 'We are delighted to be supporting Marc's case. He has been treated disgracefully and it is important that such behaviour is challenged and proper amends made.
'Key democratic principles are at stake here and we are determined to do everything in our power to make sure that Marc gets justice.'
Chez Cotton of Hickman & Rose is representing Vallee and says that the police have neither apologised nor offered any explanation for the actions taken by its officers.
'This is a significant case because freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones of democracy and safeguards afforded to the press are particularly important,' she says. 'Marc Vallee was lawfully present to photograph a political protest outside Parliament, yet received injuries at the hands of Metropolitan police officers. In these circumstances it is hoped that the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police will swiftly confirm that neither he nor his officers have any legal power or moral responsibility to prevent or restrict what the media record, and resolve this case urgently.'
A spokesman for the Met sent BJP a statement acknowledging that it was aware a civil action had been launched. Its statement reads: 'We can confirm the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has been served with notification of a civil action alleging assault and breach of articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act following an alleged incident during a demonstration on 09 October 2006 in Parliament Square. This was served on the MPS on 24 August 2007. The MPS has until late October to file its defence and enquiries are continuing'.
