Met Police Win Kettling Appeal

The Met Police has won an appeal against a ruling over "kettling" tactics during the G20 demonstrations in the city in 2009

Kettling sees groups of protestors/demonstrators kept within police cordons and prevented from leaving - except in small numbers. Concerns have been raised about the fact that such tactics see many people trapped within for long periods of time - potentially without water or bathroom facilities.

High Court judges had said that officers acted unlawfully during the G20 protests, using "unjustified force" but the Court of Appeal has ruled that that decision was flawed.

The police had expressed concerns that the original judgement could have an impact on their ability "to prevent disorder within protests".

Sam Walton, from Camp for Climate Action, who was there in April 2009, says he can't believe the result of the appeal.

"We've seen the video, we've read the initial judgement from the first court and we've read the police officers notebooks from the day. It's clear to us that thepolice were acting unlawfully and we can't see how the court of appeal reached this judgement."

The original ruling against the Metropolitan Police led to human rights lawyers calling for a change to "police attitudes and tactics."

The Court of Appeal ruled that the High Court decision was flawed.