Freed Pope plot suspects may sue police for false arrest
U.K. police and counterterrorism authorities are worried that the six men who were arrested Friday on suspicion that they were plotting to assassinate the Pope during his U.K. visit may take legal action for unlawful arrest and detention; the men, all of North African origin, were released Saturday and Sunday after police admitted there was no evidence of a plot
Six men were arrested in a plot to kill the Pope // Source: blogspot.com
Six street cleaners arrested over an alleged plot to attack the Pope could try to sue the police after being released without charge, detectives fear.
The men were detained by counterterrorism officers at a cleaning depot in central London after police received intelligence suggesting they were planning an atrocity against Benedict XVI. Late on Saturday, however, they were freed after police found no evidence to support their initial suspicions (“Six freed over suspected Pope plot,” 20 September 2010 HSNW). It was reported that the men— all of North African origin — were arrested after jokingly discussing how to harm the Pope in a work canteen. A colleague is said to have overheard their comments and alerted counter-terrorism officers.
The Daily Mail’s Stephen Wright writes that the concern among senior officers and counterterrorism officials is that the men could try to take legal action against the Met for unlawful arrest and detention.
For such a move to be successful, they would have to prove that the actions of officers were disproportionate and ill-informed, and the evidence available did not reach the threshold of reasonable suspicion to merit their arrests.
A security source said: “The intelligence which prompted these arrests was received very late in the day and detectives had only a few hours to assess the quality of it before taking action. As far as the Met are concerned, the arrests were proportionate and justified, but there is a strong feeling that the legal-aid vultures will soon be circling around this case.”
Security sources dismissed reports that the men had merely had a light-hearted conversation about attacking the Pope.
One said: “We do not recognize this version of events. The intelligence received suggested this was a very serious situation.”
Wright notes that as part of the investigation, police searched eight homes in north and east London and two business premises in central London, including the street cleaning depot. The Met said the searches had revealed no weapons or suspicious materials.
The BBC quoted Scotland Yard sources as saying that the men posed no credible threat, while the Sunday Mirror said the men had been reported after they were overheard sharing a joke in their canteen.
One of the men reportedly said: “It would be pretty difficult to shoot the Pope, wouldn’t it, as his car is bulletproof?”
Another allegedly replied: “Yeah but I bet an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) would get through easily enough.”
The six are aged 26, 27, 29, 36, 40, and 50. The 29-year-old was arrested at home in north London shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday. The five others had been held at gunpoint as officers swooped on their base while they were preparing to start their shift shortly before 6 a.m.
They work for Veolia Environmental Services, a contractor which employs 650 on-street staff to keep the streets of Westminster clean.
The cost of policing the papal visit, coordinated by South Yorkshire Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes, will exceed £3 million.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman yesterday said: “Six men who were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 on Friday were all released without charge late on Saturday night and early this morning.”
