Protesters' rights were violated by Met surveillance

THREE men told today how they were "made to feel like criminals" after being arrested for obstructing a police cameraman photographing people attending a meeting at a community centre.

Alex Clay, Jeff Parks and Barney Laurance celebrated a landmark legal victory that saw their convictions overturned after a judge ruled their human rights had been breached.

The three men are members of the group Fitwatch, which monitors the Met's Forward Intelligence Team. They had unfurled a banner to block surveillance photographs and video being taken of anti-capitalist campaigners entering and exiting the Pullens Centre at Elephant and Castle.

The small public meeting was convened by the group No Borders to discuss a future demonstration over government immigration policy.

Speaking for the first time since the appeal verdict on Friday, Mr Clay, 23, said: "People who are going about totally legitimate, lawful forms of protest and activity are being made to feel like criminals and recorded and monitored by the state for no reason.

"We challenged the legality of the officers' actions and then got a Fitwatch banner and held it up to prevent them getting shots of people coming in or out. We refuse to accept the logic that just because someone attends a protest that they are a criminal."

The men were arrested and convicted in June 2008 of obstructing police officers or police photographers, and ordered to pay nearly £2,000 in fines.

At Inner London crown court, the prosecution claimed police feared people at the meeting were planning a violent protest against US president George W Bush, who was visiting London. But defence lawyers argued the police had no supporting evidence and were harassing the activists.

Judge Robert Fraser said: "We emphasise we do not say the police did not have a legitimate aim, but the Crown failed to satisfy us to the relevant standard."

James Welch, legal director at Liberty, said: "This is a useful reminder that protest is not a suspect activity and that the police have no general right to keep records on law-abiding citizens."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Fit teams are something that have been around for a long while and are an overt tactic at high-profile demonstrations and events. They are there so that if people get out of hand then the evidence has already been gathered."