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Photographers receive police damages

01 March 1995

Two press photographers have received substantial damages from the Metropolitan police after they were assaulted and wrongfully arrested. Freelance photographer, David Hoffman, was outside Parliament during an anti-Rushdie demonstration in 1989 when he had his camera smashed into his face and was arrested by PC Terence Way of the Tactical Support Group. He was charged with disorderly conduct, but enlarged a photograph of Way dozens of times to read his wristwatch; this demonstrated that the officer's chronology of events was untrue. Mr Hoffman accepted £25,000 from the Metropolitan police in an out-of-court settlement. A second photographer, Roy Hanney, accepted £30,000 from the Metropolitan police after he was beaten by policemen during the 1990 Trafalgar Square poll-tax demonstration. He was charged with affray - an offence which carries a 3 year prison sentence - but, the High Court was told, the evidence against him was concocted by two officers, PCs Tony Egan and Richard Ramsey, who were involved in his arrest. Figures for the year ending in March 1994 show that the total amount of damages paid by the Metropolitan police was £1,761,000. Independent 13.1.95; Journalist January/February 1995