Birmingham police: ‘sorry, we won’t do it again’
HE UNION’S Birmingham Branch has secured an apology from West Midlands police for forcing photographer Lawrence Looi to delete his images of a protest from his camera.
Lawrence Looi, a staff photographer with the News Team agency, was covering a protest outside the Labour Party’s spring conference at Birmingham’s International Conference Centre in March when he was approached by two officers who objected to being photographed.
They asked him to delete any photographs showing police officers, which he declined to do. One of them, a sergeant, grabbed the camera with the intention of deleting them himself. At this point Lawrence Looi agreed to delete the images. “I didn’t want the hassle of him trying to intimidate me and waste my time by detaining me”, he said. “In hindsight, I should have probably have let them arrest me.”
The officers said that images could compromise the safety of any officers who may later undertake undercover operations.
Lawrence Looi has formally complained to West Midlands Chief Constable Sir Paul Scott-Lee. NUJ Birmingham Branch chair Alan Taman took up the case and secured a meeting with a Chief Inspector John Mayne, who has written admitting that police were at fault, offering the apology and confirming that officers would be instructed not to repeat the conduct.
Chief Inspector Mayne wrote: “The officers had no power to require Mr Looi to delete his pictures. Clear instructions have been given as to their powers relating to photographers. Please accept my apologies for the actions taken.”
Alan Taman said: “We were right to challenge the actions of these officers, and uphold the rights of bona fide photographers under the law.
“West Midlands Police have admitted they were in the wrong and have left room for further dialogue. That is refreshingly honest and open, given the way some forces have behaved towards journalists lately, and we as a Branch will certainly be taking up their offer.”