Criminal lawyers have threatened to boycott Stratford Magistrates’ Court after court security guards pinned a duty solicitor to the floor
The duty solicitor, Dele Johnson, had been working in the youth court on 1 May, when the incident occurred. London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA) has called for the court security guards involved to be suspended pending investigation.
In an open letter to HM Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS), Edward Jones, LCCSA president, noted the solicitor was injured and ‘police officers present in the building were called upon to intervene’.
Jones said: ‘Based on the reports we have received, we are seriously concerned and appalled at the alleged behaviour of the security officers involved.
‘Given the seriousness of the alleged incident and the already documented history of complaints against security staff at Stratford Magistrates’ Court (which are already the subject of an official complaint by this association), we have no confidence at the moment that those tasked with ensuring the safety of our members and colleagues at this court are capable of doing so. We therefore demand the immediate suspension from duty of all the security officers involved in the incident pending a full, independent investigation into the facts.
‘Should these security officers continue to work at this court, we may recommend to our members that they do not attend Stratford Magistrates’ Court until this situation has been resolved.’
LCCSA recently made an official complaint about ‘invasive searches’ of solicitors at the same court. In an open letter to HMCTS in April, it said it had been receiving ‘extremely concerning’ reports of ‘over-zealous’ searches, including a pat-down search of a female duty solicitor who, after referring to one of the guards as an ‘idiot’ during the search, was forcibly ejected, had her lunch thrown on the pavement and was denied re-entry.
A spokesperson for HMCTS said: ‘These are serious complaints and we are urgently investigating them as a matter of priority. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage. Our security measures are designed to protect the safety of all court users within our premises and remain under constant review.’
