Parents ‘get £20k payout’ after unlawful arrest over school WhatsApp row
Parents wrongly arrested over school WhatsApp row get £20k payout from police
- A couple, Rosalind Levine and Maxie Allen, were unlawfully arrested by Hertfordshire police after complaining about their daughter's primary school on WhatsApp.
- The couple was detained by six officers in front of their young daughter on 29 January and held for 11 hours on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications.
- Their arrest stemmed from criticisms made in a parents' WhatsApp group and multiple emails to Cowley Hill Primary School in Borehamwood.
- Hertfordshire Police initially defended the action but later admitted the arrest was unlawful, as the legal test for necessity was not met.
- The couple has agreed to a £20,000 payout in damages, plus costs, from the police, who accepted liability for the wrongful arrest and detention.