An 87-year-old serial protestor has lost his High Court battle to have his details removed from the National Domestic Extremism Unit Database.

John Olroyd Catt, from Brighton, had gone to court to seek the deletion of his details from the database, which were stored there because of his long history of protests and, specifically, his association with the protest group Smash EDO.

Smash EDO campaigns for the closure of EDO, a US-owned arms company that has a factory in Brighton.

While Smash EDO’s protests contain a majority of peaceful protestors, such as Mr Catt, there has been some criminality and disorder at protests that has led to the police retaining details.

The data held was comprised of reports made by police officers policing the Smash EDO demonstrations and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit maintains the database.

Mr Catt had argued that the retention of his details on the database violated his rights to a private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

However, Lord Justice Gross rejected his claim. He said: “The compilation and retention of the reports were predictable consequences of Mr Catt`s very public activities; they neither engaged nor infringed his right to privacy.”

It is believed that Mr Catt will appeal the court’s decision.

Mr Catt has a long history of peaceful protest regarding subjects such as the wars in Iraq and Vietnam, nuclear weaponry, racism in the police service, tuition fees, and the poll tax.

A spokesperson for the MPS said: “Today’s ruling demonstrates that the retention and collation of intelligence reports – carried out in accordance with the appropriate statutory codes of practice – is vital to preventing Domestic Extremism within the UK.

“We are pleased that this ruling confirms the important legitimate police requirement to keep intelligence records enabling us to fulfil our obligations of protecting life and property, preserving order, preventing the commission of offences, and bringing offenders to justice.”