Tom Wainwright of the Garden Court Chambers Protest Rights Team acted for the defendant, instructed by Hester Cavaciuti of Bindmans LLP, who was assisted by Shivani Soni, trainee solicitor.
Four years after the event, the CPS offered no evidence on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction at Southwark Crown Court. The defendant was charged with violent disorder in October 2022, following an extensive investigation conducted by City of London police involving numerous suspects, multiple interviews, seizure and forensic examination of multiple devices, and house searches.
The CPS relied on hours of CCTV and Body Worn Footage, in which, the person that the CPS alleged was the defendant was circled. The CPS also relied on an ID statement from the former Officer in the Case (OIC). Although the defendant accepted his presence at the protest, he disputed that he had been correctly identified by the CPS.
In court, counsel for the CPS confirmed that a thorough review of the case was taken following a change in the OIC. The former OIC was dismissed from the police for reasons unconnected to this investigation.
