Hertfordshire police have agreed to pay £20,000 to Rosalind Levine and Maxie Allen after admitting their arrest was unlawful. The couple were detained for 11 hours in January following complaints about their daughter's primary school on WhatsApp.
Levine and Allen, who were arrested by six uniformed officers on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property, said they felt vindicated by the admission. Allen, a Times Radio producer, described the arrest as a 'pretty serious mistake'.
The couple had been banned from Cowley Hill primary school in Borehamwood after criticising its headteacher in a parents' WhatsApp group. The school said it sought police advice after a 'high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts'.
Hertfordshire police originally defended the arrest, stating it was necessary to investigate the allegations. However, after a review, the force's lawyers admitted the criteria for arrest under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 were not met, rendering the arrest unlawful.
Allen and Levine each received £10,000. A police spokesperson said the force accepted liability solely because the legal test for necessity of arrest was not met, and there were no issues of misconduct. Levine expressed concern that similar incidents may be happening to others.
