A police raid on the Hackney premises of architecture and arts charity Antepavilion in 2021 was unlawful, the High Court has ruled.
The Metropolitan Police, whose Territorial Support Group carried out the raid, has now been ordered to pay compensation to Antepavilion for damage caused by the forced entry. They have also been ordered to return all seized items from the site within 14 days.
Officers stormed the Hoxton Docks building on the morning of 25 June 2021, arresting several Antepavilion staff and seizing tools, materials, documents and mobile phones.
According to Antepavilion, more than 100 police were involved in the raid, while footage showed at least 40 officers surging into the building after forcing open the door with power tools. Above: Russell Gray was pulled off his motorbike by police and handcuffed. Top: officers used power tools to force entry to the building
People who were unlawfully arrested and detained overnight will also receive compensation. The CCTV footage had shown Antepavilion building owner Russell Gray being pulled off his motorbike by eight officers, pushed up against a shutter and handcuffed.
"We always took the view that the raid was illegal," Gray told Dezeen. "The police conduct throughout suggested they knew it themselves but they didn't care."
It is believed the police were targeting an installation on the roof of the arts venue called All Along the Watchtower, a tensegrity structure by collective Project Bunny Rabbit...