False Imprisonment

The English law of tort gives remedies to people who have been wronged by the actions of others. The best known tort is negligence. Others include defamation, trespass against land and nuisance. There is a category known as 'trepass against the person'. It includes assault and battery. These may also give rise to criminal prosecution, but today I am only considering tort, which is 'civil law' - in this context contrasted with 'criminal law'.

Yesterday the Metropolitan Police lost an action in the High Court brought by two claimants who had sued for the third tort in the 'trespass against the person' category - false imprisonment. The Police had wrongly 'imprisoned' them by the use of the tactic of 'kettling'. The High Court found that holding these peaceful protesters was unjustified, and therefore was illegal. False imprisonment is a tort which involves stopping someone leaving a place without legal authority. It is not restricted to being held in a room. (One case involved a man stranded on a roof after the defendant took his ladder).