{
  "id": 13571834,
  "title": "Bid to overturn ruling which stops police being sued for failings",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/bid-to-overturn-ruling-which-stops-police-being-sued-for-failings",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-10T23:04:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC News",
    "slug": "bbc-news",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6y43mmke7ygo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Backbench MPs are seeking to overturn a 2025 Court of Appeal ruling which permits police to be shielded from civil lawsuits, even in cases of gross misconduct. The ruling, which applies to England and Wales, holds that police officers are immune from liability for both their actions as witnesses and statements made during criminal investigations. Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell and Labour MP Jess Phillips have introduced an amendment to a bill currently under parliamentary debate, aimed at reversing the judgment.\n\nThe Court of Appeal's decision came in a case involving a victim of severe domestic abuse who was forced to flee her abuser after sensitive personal information was mistakenly disclosed by Sussex Police to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). This incident resulted in the victim being re-victimized, with her abuser gaining access to her new address. The woman, who suffered significant trauma, had brought legal action against both the police and CPS for their failings, which were initially rejected and later reinstated before being struck out.\n\nThe core issue at stake is whether police officers should be shielded from legal responsibility for their actions, even when their conduct is grossly negligent or amounts to misconduct. The MPs argue that the current immunity granted to police officers, known as \"core immunity,\" creates a significant loophole that could be exploited by law enforcement to evade accountability. The amendment submitted by Mitchell and Phillips states that immunity should not apply to police officers' actions while not acting as witnesses, except in cases involving specified grave failings.\n\nThe MPs' efforts to amend the bill come amid growing concerns over the potential consequences of the ruling. One such case is that of Ali Kololo, a Kenyan woodcutter wrongly convicted in Kenya in 2011 of assisting a gang that attacked two British tourists, one of whom was murdered. Kololo spent 11 years in jail before being released, but the Metropolitan Police's misconduct is believed to have played a crucial role in securing his wrongful conviction. Kololo is currently suing the Metropolitan Police, relying on the legal principle of core immunity, which could be reinforced by the Court of Appeal's decision.\n\nThe Metropolitan Police has declined to comment on the ongoing civil claim but has expressed sympathy for the victim and her family. Kate Ellis, from the Centre for Women's Justice, has warned that the ruling could create an \"accountability gap\" where police forces that fail to investigate serious crimes like rape, stalking, or domestic abuse could face no consequences for their actions. The government has acknowledged the concerns surrounding police accountability, stating that a review into the issue is currently underway, and any changes to the current system should be considered alongside the review's findings. However, police forces, including Sussex Police and the National Police Chiefs Council, have declined to comment on the matter.",
  "summary": "MPs are seeking to stop immunity applying when police fabricate evidence or are dishonest or negligent.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}