Trial lawyer who was dragged from court in handcuffs wins £100k (c. $150,000) from the British political police

A barrister has received £100,000 and an apology from the Metropolitan Police after he was dragged away in handcuffs while defending a client at the High Court.

Colin Challenger later fell into a diabetic coma in a police cell because the arresting officer confiscated his insulin medicine.

The respected barrister, who sued the Met for wrongful arrest, had to be taken from Belgravia Police Station for emergency treatment at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in July last year.

Mr Challenger, 65, was arrested following a fracas at the Royal Courts of Justice after a bankruptcy case against his client, lawyer Jamil Tehrani, was adjourned. Onlookers who claimed they had been mistreated by Mr Tehrani turned on Mr Challenger and accused him of delaying tactics.

Witnesses described how Mr Challenger was confronted by one of the protesters, Ardeshir Oraki, who approached him pointing his finger and hurling abuse.

Mr Challenger is alleged to have pushed Mr Oraki out of a door, locking it behind him. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of common assault, handcuffed and bundled into a police van.

Last night Mr Challenger said he was relieved the Metropolitan Police had settled the case for ‘completely outrageous behaviour’. He declined to reveal the compensation figure but sources close to the case said it was £100,000.

Mr Challenger, who has 26 years’ courtroom experience in contract, commercial and property law, said: ‘I was arrested even though it was me who was being attacked. [But his attackers appear to have been Muslims so they can do no wrong]

‘Scotland Yard had six months to bring any charges against me and only dropped the case in January – five months and three weeks after the incident.

‘My wrongful arrest has lost me a considerable amount of business, because as soon as potential clients look me up on the internet they see I have been arrested in handcuffs. My treatment by the Metropolitan Police was completely outrageous.’

Scotland Yard has apologised in advertisements in the Law Society Gazette, Barrister Online and The Daily Calls List. A Scotland Yard spokesman said last night: ‘We can confirm that the Metropolitan Police Service has reached a settlement and offered a full apology to Mr Challenger.’

Original report here




(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress. If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where posts appear as well as on the primary site. I have reposted the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts HERE or HERE or here