In the context of three fitwatchers pursuing legal action against Kingsnorth cops, this last weekend’s news of a High Court judgement that police had acted unlawfully in their blanket stops & searches conducted under Section 1 of PACE at Kingsnorth is particularly encouraging, and underlines the importance of monitoring cop activities as fitwatchers have been doing.

The following refers, reproduced from the principal fitwatch blog:

Climate protestors [sic] this weekend won a major High Court victory against the unlawful police stop and search operation used against protesters at their camp in Kingsnorth, Kent in August 2008.

It had been the largest and most expensive such operation in UK history involving 26 police forces. Led by Kent police, these forces carried out a continuous, systematic and unlawful mass stop and search regime.

In the High Court the police accepted an Order that the searches of the three claimants had been ‘unlawful’, and constituted a violation of their human rights to privacy (breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights), to freedom of expression (breach of Article 10) and freedom of association (breach of Article 11).

Climate camp legal team have suggested that the 3,500 other searches carried under the same search laws (s1 PACE) would also have been unlawful.. All those searched under such laws can now sue the police and submit claims for damages. Those affected should log on to the climate camp website http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/ to see how to proceed with a claim.

The legal team claim that this case was won despite police efforts to deny there was any systematic stop and search policy. Their ludicrous position collapsed after a key ’smoking gun’ document came to light revealing that the police ‘bronze commanders’ in charge of the operation at Kingsnorth were systematically giving briefings for blanket stop and searches.

Three FITwatch defendants who were arrested and imprisoned for four days for photographing the stop and search operation at Kingsnorth are also persuing [sic] legal action.

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Brighton, 18th January 2010, and the “Remember Gaza” demonstration, attended by protesters of the local smashEDO campaign. And others of course.

There didn’t appear to be a huge presence of FIT, although inevitably Evidence Gatherers were… er… much in evidence.

Interestingly, the FIT that were there were minus their now notorious blue yokes on their yellow hiviz. Nevertheless a few familiar faces were instantly recognised, so of course some photos just had to be taken.

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Three days of actions in London by Disarm DSEi and other anti-arms trade protesters, starting with a tour of the “attractions” in the city (on Tuesday 8th September) and culminating with a protest at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel where arms dealers were having dinner. And, particularly with the latter event, FIT were crawling all over everywhere… but I spotted only two FIT photographers! Wow.

Another fitwatcher has done a write-up of the “city tour” on the main fitwatch blog.

FIT pix from all three days…

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Blackheath, London, 26th August to 2nd September.

Despite a much reduced police presence (no doubt due to the shitstorm generated by cop misbehaviour at the G20 protests and Kingsnorth Climate Camp) some FIT were still floating around… but this time occasionally absent their instantly-recognisable yellow HiViz with the blue yokes.

Also, not as many FIT photographers in evidence as usual.

So can this somewhat lower profile of FIT particularly be due in part to the activities of fitwatchers I ask myself?

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Specially produced for this year’s Climate Camp, and now available from the fitwatch site at fitwatch.org.uk.

Rolll up, roll up, get your cards now and play FITwatch Bingo. See if you can win a prize!

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