Two police officers are accused of perverting the course of justice over an incident which happened during the English Defence League demonstration in Bolton town centre. The charges relate to an incident involving one of the Unite Against Fascism counter-protesters, Alan Clough, from Radcliffe, who was allegedly attacked by police.
Now police officers Robert Cantrell and Alan Glover have been summonsed to appear at York Magistrates’ Court on September 11. They have both been summonsed to face charges of perverting the course of justice.
Mr Clough, a UAF demonstrator, had been charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour during the protests, which happened in Victoria Square on March 20, 2010. He strongly denied the accusation – but the case against him was dropped when video footage emerged of him apparently being attacked by police.
The footage, which was shot by Granada TV and obtained by Mr Clough’s defence team, appeared to show the 63-year-old being pushed to the ground and hit on the head with a baton by police officers.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to drop the case against Mr Clough on the day it was due to start at Bolton Magistrates Court in October, 2010.
Campaign group Justice4bolton, which was set up after the demonstration, alleged that the police used heavy-handed tactics on the day and called for an inquiry.
Update: See “Riot officer to face perverting course of justice charge in probe into policing of EDL demo in Bolton”, Manchester Evening News, 31 August 2012