Nicholas Bowen QC and David Lemer persuade Court of Appeal that damages should be awarded against Metropolitan Police for malicious prosecution and misconduct in a public office

The Court of Appeal has today handed down a judgment (which can be viewed by clicking here) allowing an appeal by Jonathan Rees, Glenn Vian and Garry Vian, who will now receive substantial damages from the Metropolitan Police to compensate for the scandalous behaviour of one its senior officers, amounting to malicious prosecution and misfeasance in a public office.  Their claim for damages arose following their acquittal in 2012 of Daniel Morgan’s murder at a trial which collapsed because of corrupt police behaviour (persuading a key witness to give a fabricated eye-witness account against the defendants). 

In its judgment the Court of Appeal considered that an earlier decision in February 2017 by Mr Justice Mitting, to deny damages to Messrs Rees, Vian and Vian, was a “negation of the rule of law”.  The Court also said that it “may well appear to be counter-intuitive to any ordinary member of the public” for Mr Justice Mitting to have found that a Detective Chief Superintendent could be corrupt, but simultaneously find that he was not necessarily acting maliciously. 

The costs of this case, to be met by the Metropolitan Police, are likely to be substantially in excess of £1million plus, and damages will also be assessed and are likely to be substantial.  The taxpayer has already funded the costs of extensive police investigations culminating in an abortive criminal trial which the Court of Appeal said would never have been brought had the full scale of the criminal behaviour of a Detective Chief Superintendent been known to prosecutors.  

The Commissioner has sought permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Jonathan Rees and Glenn Vian were represented by Nicholas Bowen QC and David Lemer of Doughty Street Chambers, instructed by David Ware and Bob Williams of Freedman Alexander LLP.

Garry Vian was represented by Stephen Simblet and Guile Nicholas Solicitors.