Campaigners demand release of Bolton EDL demo report as riot cop found not guilty
Article published: Friday, June 21st 2013
Anti-fascist campaigners have demanded that a police watchdog releases its report into a 2010 English Defence League (EDL) demonstration in Bolton after two officers were cleared of perverting the course of justice.
Police officers at the demonstration in Bolton on 20 March 2010. Photograph © trhippy on www.flickr.com
Members of Justice for Bolton are asking that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) publish its report into the protest on 20 March 2010, where 3,500 Unite Against Facism (UAF) and EDL demonstrators faced off against one another outside Bolton town hall.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) arrested 73 people on the day, including 53 anti-racists affiliated to UAF. The IPCC has not released the report until now due to the risk of prejudicing criminal proceedings relating to the protest.
PC Alan Glover was found not guilty at York Crown Court on Monday this week of providing a false statement against anti-racist protestor Alan Clough at the town centre rally after prosecutors offered no evidence against him.
Fellow Tactical Aid Unit (TAU) officer, Inspector Robert Cantrell, was also cleared in February earlier this year of intending to pervert the course of justice by giving false or misleading statements after Judge Shaun Spencer ruled that the charge was unsupported by the evidence.
Clough, a retired groundskeeper, was arrested at the demonstration and charged with threatening behaviour. PC Glover was alleged to have made false statements accusing him of hitting Insp Cantrell as police clashed with anti-racist protestors.
The charges against Clough were abandoned after Granada TV footage surfaced apparently showing police officers gripping his neck and striking out with batons as he was dragged to the ground.
Prosecutor Paul Mitchell told the court that Insp Cantrell had been shown punching Clough in the face on the footage, but could not be charged with assault due to the lapse of a six month time limit.
Alan Clough said he was very disappointed with the outcome of the case. “I was hoping for some justice after three long years but we seem as far away from it as we were in March 2010″, he explained in a statement.
A Justice for Bolton spokesperson said, “The IPCC has finished its investigation into the complaints received about the policing of the Unite Against Fascism protest against the English Defence League in March 2010.
“The report has not yet been published because of the risk that it would prejudice criminal proceedings. There is no reason now not to disclose the report and we expect it to be published immediately.”
Explaining the reasoning for dropping the case, Mr Mitchell said Insp Cantrell is shown in new “enhanced video” footage facing Clough at the demonstration, with Glover around three or four yards behind the Inspector looking at his back.
“At that point on the enhanced video it’s plain that Cantrell makes a sudden movement back with his head”, Mr Mitchell said.
“After his head moves back, Mr Clough’s hand is seen raised close to Mr Cantrell’s head.
“My own view is that Mr Clough’s hand is not in a fist, it is open, but it appears he’s making a shooing gesture with the back of his hand.
“Considering it from Glover’s viewpoint, it appears to the Crown that what Glover would have seen is that backwards movement of Cantrell’s head, followed by a flash of white against dark background, which is Mr Clough’s hand.”
Mr Mitchell added that he was not confident that the two charges of making a false statement and perverting the course of justice could be proved to a jury.
Glover’s legal representative, Jason Pitter, told The Bolton News that the past three years had been difficult for his client. “He has maintained and set out his innocence from the outset”, he said.
Speaking after the outcome, Dr Rhetta Moran of Justice for Bolton was critical. “Justice has not been done and neither has it been seen to be done”, she said.
“We have to ask a question – why is a case abandoned 48 working hours before a Crown trial is due to begin, on the basis of what is being described as “enhanced footage” that no-one from the public has seen? That is very troubling.”
Dr Moran added that the group would seek the release of the enhanced footage to the public. “They’ve not disclosed the sources of the footage, so they’re asking everybody to believe them without disclosing the source”, she argued.
“Justice4bolton expects that enhanced footage to be made available.”
Rick Coates, who made the original complaint that led to the decision to prosecute the two officers, said he was “appalled” that the IPCC had not yet informed him of the outcome of his complaint after three years.
Richard Goulding
Comments
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Just like doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers etc etc the police are public employees and therefore more altruistic, honest, caring and generally wonderful than the rest of us.
I see no reason to question these acquittals.
By the way, the whole fuss could have been averted if the UAF didn’t insist on marching at the same time and place as the EDL. Why the UAF imagine that the rest of us need them to protect us from the EDL’s message is a mystery to most people.
Comment by pete on June 22, 2013 at 11:42 am -
More evidence of the corruption infesting the police farce .
Comment by Maggie on June 24, 2013 at 1:31 pm -
UAF don’t think anyone needs ‘protecting’ they are making a stand to say that the community doesn’t want Nazis trying to spew their Islamophobic, immigrant-hating, unionist-bashing hate speech in the neighbourhood. You know, rather than letting everyone hear ‘oh the EDL came to this town and no one said anything about it, oh they must endorse their message’. Quite simple really… I see why you might have trouble getting to grips with it pete…
Comment by sarah on June 27, 2013 at 9:12 pm -
Corrupt and violent plods must be jailed .
Comment by tim on August 31, 2013 at 3:22 pm
The comments are closed.
