Comedian who was unlawfully searched by police wins £1,200 payout

By Daily Mail Reporter

Payout: Mark Thomas received an apology after police searched him for weapons after he spoke at a rally

A comedian who was unlawfully stopped and searched by police for displaying an ‘over-confident’ attitude has won a £1,200 payout.

Comic and activist Mark Thomas was searched for weapons by Metropolitan police after giving a speech at an anti-arms trade rally in 2007, but nothing was found.

The constable involved later stated that Mr Thomas may have been carrying weapons as he appeared over-confident.

In legal papers filed by Mr Thomas, and not disputed by police, the constable from the Territorial Support Group told him: ‘If we only stopped and searched people who looked nervous and shifty and didn’t stop the ones who looked over-confident you would be able to get past us.’

The Met apologised and gave Mr Thomas £1,200 for ‘falsely imprisoning’ him for 12 minutes.

The apology comes after the European Court of human rights found it was unlawful for police to use their stop and search powers against peaceful protesters.

Mr Thomas said: ‘£100 a minute is more than my usual rate. If over-confidence is a reason for a stop-and-search Jonathan Ross should never leave his house.’

The Met Office plans to use Mr Thomas’s case as an example when training officers.

Thomas plans to donate some of the money to the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation.

Late last year it was revealed Mr Thomas was among the activists whose details and photographs had been collected by police officers and passed to a central ‘domestic extremism’ unit for storage and analysis.

The database features people seen at public demonstrations including anti-war rallies and environmental protests.