Judge throws out CPS challenge to innocence of protesters who blockaded London arms fair

Protesters were acquitted because of 'credible' evidence of wrongdoing at the arms fair

Protesters are removed by police after taking part in a road block outside the DSEI arms fair in 2015 (Getty)

A judge has thrown out an appeal by the Crown Prosecution Service against a decision to acquit protesters who tried to blockade the world’s biggest arms fair.

In April Stratford Magistrates Court ruled that there was “compelling” evidence to suggest unlawful activity was occurring at the bi-annual DSEI gathering in London’s docklands.

He acquitted eight protesters who had blocked a highway with the aim of shutting down the event on the basis that they were potentially preventing a greater crime from occurring.

The CPS said it would appeal the ruling, but its appeal has now been rejected – with a judge now accusing prosecutors of not having read the judgment properly.

“The CPS application repeatedly significantly misrepresents the contents of the judgement delivered at the end of the case and therefore seeks to challenge the decisions reached on wholly erroneous bases,” district judge Angus Hamilton said, rejecting the appeal.

“The very least the CPS should do is read the judgment fully and, if appropriate, frame their application based on what was actually decided rather than what they seem to believe was decided.”

He added that the CPS's appeal was both "frivolous" and "misconceived".

Raj Chada, partner and head of protest team at Hodge Jones & Allen, which represented some of the protesters, said: “From shambles to farce, the CPS has received a slap in the face in their efforts to appeal this decision.

“It should abandon its application and concentrate on the real wrong-doing at DSEI – weapons that are being used to commit heinous crimes throughout the world.”

Adeela Khan, solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen, said: “The CPS needs to start to respect the decisions of the UK courts, like this one and the High Court, which stripped diplomatic immunity from Prince Nasser of Bahrain, and pursue the real criminals instead of our clients.”

MPs on the House of Commons Committee for Arms Export Control are to investigate the alleged illegal sale of weapons at arms fairs as part of their inquiry into the trade.

DSEI’s organisers say it complied with all relevant arms control regulations in 2015, that it allowed government agencies full access to its premises, and that it is constantly tightening its compliance procedures.

A CPS spokesperson said: “We are considering our position regarding an appeal in this case.”