MPS pay compensation over riot picture

A housing officer who helped several people caught up in the riots in 2011 has won his claim for damages against the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) after they placed his image on a ‘wanted’ poster.

Leslie Austin, 49, had assisted an elderly woman, a bus driver and numerous others when they were stuck in the middle of the rioting in Hackney on August 8, 2011, but had featured on an MPS poster issued last year seeking information about rioters.

Despite complaining to the force over the image, Mr Austin said the MPS had refused to replace the poster, which had been provided for use in a local newspaper and was displayed in shops and on the force website for weeks.

Speaking to BBC London, Mr Austin said: “In all walks of life people make errors. But it was a very serious one and they were given the opportunity to remove it without me taking legal action – but did not do so. Now I just want to get on with my life.”

The MPS has agreed to pay substantial damages to Mr Austin, as well as covering his legal costs.

A spokesperson for the MPS said: “As soon as we were made aware that Mr Austin had not been involved in the disorder, but had in fact been trying to assist those caught up in it, we took steps to remove all of these posters and images from circulation, though we did not do so effectively enough – we have apologised to Mr Austin.”