Police officer charged in hunt demo inquiry

An inquiry into the events during the pro-hunt demonstration in Parliament Square last September has seen an officer of the Metropolitan police charged with assault causing actual bodily harm.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has notified 31 Met officers that they have complaints against them, and the investigation is ongoing. To date, five files have been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The IPCC also stated that it has recently received further video recordings and photographs of the event from a number of media organisations which it needs to consider. However, according to a spokesman for the IPCC, progress is proving slow because some of these organisations, led by the Guardian Media Group, have declined to provide CCTV and still photographic evidence, and are currently judicially reviewing the Crown Court order to hand such media over.

IPCC Deputy chair, John Wadham, said: “This is a complex inquiry but we continue to make good progress in examining the complaints received. As soon as individual complaints are investigated, we are submitting files to the CPS so that decisions can be taken as quickly as possible.”

The IPCC were unable to name the man charged. Further revelations are expected as all the footage is collated, and each complaint in this complicated and sensitive case is processed.

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