MP SLAMS DAWN RAIDS ON HUNT HOMES

Isle of Wight County Press

HEAVY-HANDED treatment by police of huntsmen arrested in dawn raids and kept in police cells for 15 hours before being released without charge has been questioned by Island MP Andrew Turner.

In a letter to Hampshire and IW Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan, Mr Turner said the police actions would seem more appropriate for drug smugglers than for those who, even if found guilty, would only face a fine.

The concern was exacerbated by the fact the alleged offence of illegally hunting a wild animal with dogs, had taken place almost six months previously.

The four men, arrested at 6.30am at their respective homes on May 3, were Liam Thom, a member of the IW Hunt, professional huntsman Stuart Trousdale, falconer Jamie Butcher and Malcolm Purcell, a former master of the hunt and field master on the day the offence was alleged to have taken place, November 29, 2006.

This week the police confirmed the Crown Prosecution Service had decided there should be no prosecutions.In a statement, the police said: “Officers investigating this complaint carried out a full documentary assessment before taking any further action. The circumstances of these arrests were down to operational reasons and to protect the integrity of the interview process.“The time spent in custody appears to be due to the time it took for the nominated legal representative to arrive from London.“Any formal complaint regarding the individuals’ treatment can be made through the appropriate channel, where it would be guaranteed a fair and impartial investigation.”

Mr Turner said he could not discuss matters relating to individual constituents but he did confirm a letter had gone to the chief constable.

However, the CP was given a copy of the letter by Liam Thom, one of the huntsmen who raised the issue with Mr Turner, who accused the police of abusing their authority by imprisoning innocent people in such a way. Mr Thom said: “I was asleep at 6.30am on May 3 when two police constables knocked on the door and arrested me.“I was processed and put into a cell. My Island-based solicitor was unavailable so I had to wait until the early afternoon before I could see a solicitor who had to travel from Tunbridge Wells in Kent. I wasn’t interviewed by the police until 9.30pm.“If the police wanted to discuss matters with me, they could have done so with an appointment so there was no need for a dawn raid, which, apart from being a total over-reaction, must have cost several thousand pounds of public money.”

Mr Trousdale also felt he had been treated in a heavy-handed manner.“I was incarcerated for 15 hours, a fair period of which was waiting for our lawyer. Had we been asked to come in on an appointment basis, we would have had our legal representative there ready,” he said.

In his letter, Mr Turner said when his constituents complained unruly neighbours, low-level crime or anti-social behaviour were making their lives a misery, the constant refrain was the police did not have the resources to attend promptly, let alone to sort out the problems.

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