Parents get £20000 for ‘unlawful’ arrest after complaining about school on WhatsApp

A police force has admitted the unlawful arrest of two parents who complained about their daughter’s primary school on WhatsApp. Maxie Allen, 50, and his partner Rosalind Levine, 47, say they were detained by six uniformed officers and held at a police station for 11 hours. Hertfordshire Police originally defended its decision to detain the couple but has now agreed a £20,000 payout, the Times reports. The force admitted a legal criteria for arrest was “not made out” and formally accepted liability for wrongful arrest and detention. Mr Allen, a Times Radio producer, said: “We’re very pleased Hertfordshire Constabulary have recognised, albeit belatedly, that our arrests were unlawful. “I hope the debate around our case has a positive effect on how these issues are handled in future. The police should not be a tool for public authorities to close down legitimate comment and scrutiny.” Mr Allen and Ms Levine had previously been banned from entering Cowley Hill Primary School, in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, after questioning the recruitment process for a head teacher and criticising the leadership in a parents’ WhatsApp group. The school said it had “sought advice from police” after a “high volume of direct correspondence and public social media
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