Seven acquitted in s14 conditions protest trial

17 February 2024

Alex and Mira

Seven people who were arrested during a Palestine Action demonstration at a UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS) site in Leicester have had their cases dismissed following a successful submission of ‘no case to answer’ from GCN’s Mira Hammad and Alexander McColl.

The seven were charged under section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, which gives the police the power to impose conditions on public assemblies. Any conditions imposed must be reasonable, clear, necessary and proportionate in order to be lawful, and those affected must either be aware of the conditions or they ought to have known.

Through cross-examination of police officers in the case, including the Chief Constable of Leicestershire, and extensive submissions on the lawfulness of conditions, the defence were able to show that there were multiple deficiencies in the Crown’s case. The district judge found that the notice was not lawful and the Crown had not been able to show that the defendants were aware or ought to have been aware of them.

The trial took place over four days at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court.

The defendants were represented by Mira Hammad instructed by Kellys Solicitors, Alexander McColl instructed by Alastair Lyon of Birnberg Peirce, Nicola Hall of Robert Lizar and Katie McFadden of Hodge Jones & Allen.

Our Crime & Protest Rights team is recruiting! We are one of the only dedicated protest rights teams outside of London dealing with contemporary protest issues.

Find out more about tenancy at Garden Court North.

News

News

Garden Court North welcomes new pupils Iqra Shahid and Pragnya Iovine

Garden Court North is delighted to announce that Iqra Shahid and Pragnya Iovine commenced their pupillage on 1 October 2025.

News

Bethany Currie and Misha Nayak-Oliver accept invitations to join Chambers

Bethany Currie and Misha Nayak-Oliver have accepted invitations to join Chambers following successful completion of pupillage.  

News

Garden Court North ranked Top Tier Set by the Legal 500 for 2026

The Legal 500 ranked 42 Garden Court North members ranked across six areas of law, including three Leading Silks and 18 Leading Juniors.

News

Inquest into self-inflicted death of 16-year-old Leo Barber finds missed opportunity by NHS mental health services

Garden Court North's Camille Warren represented Leo Barber's family during the inquest into his self-inflicted death.

Sign up to our mailing list

Our mailing list is dedicated to professionals with an interest in our work.

Sign up