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Civil Liberties & Human Rights

Freedom of Speech & Assembly

Susie-Labinjoh-2
Susie Labinjoh
Partner
Cormac McDonough
Cormac McDonough
Partner
Jocelyn Cockburn
Jocelyn Cockburn
Partner
Maria O'Connell
Maria O’Connell
Partner
Nancy Collins
Nancy Collins
Partner
Sasha Barton
Sasha Barton
Partner
Alisha McSporran
Paralegal
Aniqa Khan
Paralegal
Aston Luff
Aston Luff
Solicitor
Brid Doherty
Brid Doherty
Solicitor
Charlotte Sykes
Charlotte Sykes
Solicitor
Darcey Hayes
Paralegal
Eliza Bell
Trainee
Guy Mitchell
Guy Mitchell
Solicitor
Lottie Baldwin
Lottie Baldwin
Solicitor
Megan Finnis
Megan Finnis
Solicitor
Rebecca Shotton
Rebecca Shotton
Trainee
Ruth Waters-Falk
Ruth Waters-Falk
Solicitor
Sabrina Pinto_Website
Sabrina Pinto
Paralegal
Sarah Flanagan
Sarah Flanagan
Associate
Sebastian Del Monte
Sebastian Del Monte
Solicitor
Shakti Bhagwansingh
Shakti Bhagwansingh
Solicitor
Sion Morgan
Sion Morgan
Solicitor
Siri Beck-Friis
Siri Beck-Friis
Paralegal
Will Heath
Will Heath
Paralegal

Protesting against unjust, illegitimate or illegal activities is a fundamental part of democracy.

Hodge Jones & Allen is a leading law firm in the UK. We specialise in representing the right to protest  Our passionate and committed team of solicitors – which works closely with our renowned Public Order/Criminal law team – have extensive experience in bringing and winning difficult, controversial and high profile cases. We’re dedicated to defending the right to protest against injustice.

This right to free speech is protected in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which is brought into English law by the Human Rights Act 1998. The right to freedom of assembly (or freedom of association) is contained in Article 11 ECHR.

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Experienced freedom of speech & assembly solicitors

We’ve used human rights law to defend the rights of protestors in high-profile cases. This includes the G20 protests, UK Uncut protests, Critical Mass events, anti-fascist marches, traveller site evictions (Dale Farm) arms fairs and TUC events.

We’ve received compensation for protestors who’ve been injured or mistreated during protests. We have successfully acted for clients in disciplinary actions against the police, securing apologies and changes to police practice.

All our expert lawyers are active members of the Police Action Lawyers Group. This represents solicitors specialising in complaints against the police.

"CORMAC MCDONOUGH HAS BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL... HE EXPLAINS THE LAW IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE. I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH THE SERVICE HE HAS PROVIDED."

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Your next steps

Contact our legal experts today. All communications will be treated in confidence, even where you don’t become our client. If we can take on your case, we will give you full details about costs, including advising you on the availability of legal aid and Conditional Fee Agreement, also known as “no win, no fee”.

If you want us to investigate a claim for you, it’s important you don’t delay and you contact us as soon as possible. The law requires that cases are started at court within specific timescales.

Most civil claims for compensation (for a breach of human rights) must be issued at court within one year. We must ensure evidence is collected and the case is properly prepared. The sooner you contact us, the better. If you think you might be out of time, don’t let this stop you from calling us – we will advise you if this is a problem, and if we can take your case on, we will fight to get your claim heard even if the breach took place a long time ago.

Get in touch with us today on
0808 271 9413
or request a call back.

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“The whole legal team are professional and empathetic with excellent communication.” “They are excellent in all regards, and are extremely kind, patient and helpful.” “The quality of their lawyers, the work they generate and the way they handle cases are excellent.” – Chambers UK, 2023

“Hodge Jones & Allen’s expertise and passion in this field are truly outstanding. Their comprehensive approach, combined with their deep understanding of the legal complexities involved, allows them to deliver impactful representation.” – Legal 500, 2024

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Featured cases

  • Our client was carrying a T-shirt with the question “Are the Royal Family better than yours?” whilst walking through Soho on the day of a royal celebration. He was stopped and searched without proper explanation, before being handcuffed and arrested for breach of the peace. He was then detained in a police cell and was eventually released without charge. After we represented him in a civil claim, the Metropolitan Police agreed to settle his case, apologised to him and supported his application for the deletion of his data from the police national computer.
  • Under an Article 3 claim for degrading treatment, we secured compensation for a group of protestors arrested at the Dale Farm traveller site. The protestors were left handcuffed in a prison van for five hours without access to toilet facilities and were forced to urinate in the van in view of others.
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"From start to finish the service has been outstanding. And I like to thank my solicitor for her outstanding help to getting my case solved and concluded to my satisfaction."

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