In late 2014, the Occupy Democracy movement assembled in Parliament Square in order to discuss the problems with and alternatives to the current democratic system. Over the course of several days, numerous arrests were made for a variety of offences.
The final Defendant facing trial has now been found not guilty. The CPS have also abandoned an appeal against the first set of acquittals. This means that out of 31 Defendants facing 61 charges over the course of 11 sets of proceedings, not one person has been convicted. The police operation for the demonstration is estimated to have cost nearly £2m and the cost of the trials is as yet unknown.
The protest was covered in national media, including the Guardian and Financial Times.
Green Party peer, Jenny Jones was amongst those arrested (though not charged).
The acquittal in the first trial received media coverage, including in the Evening Standard.
A man who spent two days occupying the statue of Winston Churchill was cleared of all charges.
The former deputy chair of the Liberal Democrats was cleared of assault.
All the Defendants were represented by Tom Wainwright and Owen Greenhall, instructed by Mike Schwarz at Bindmans solicitors. Tom and Owen are both members of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team.
