Road safety campaigner banned from filming in Ealing

A road safety campaigner was issued with a Community Protection Notice banning him from filming in Ealing, as well as from posting pictures of anyone without their written consent. This case shows how those in positions of authority – in this case, a councillor – are able to use the CPN system in order to protect their own reputations or seek their own ends. It also shows how, once someone has received a CPN, they become ‘fair game’ for harassment by others, and unable to receive a normal level of public protection. His CPN appeal will be held in February. This is his statement below.


“Whilst going about my daily routine which involves lots of walking around Ealing, I look out for anything that may present a danger to pedestrians or cyclists. This could be a vehicle parked in a dangerous manner or bags of rubbish for example blocking the footpath. I then report to the police or council as appropriate.

Problems started when I was nearly run over by a car. I recognised the driver as one of my local conservative councillors. Two hours later, I happened to be walking along a road, and recognised the car again, and noticed it had an illegal registration plate. I uploaded an image of it to twitter, and sent a perfectly reasonable email of complaint to the councillor’s council email.

Three days later, I was issued with a written warning by the Metropolitan police, which was converted into a community protection notice a few weeks later. I was told that my conduct was having ‘a detrimental effect, of a persistent or continuing nature, on the quality of life of those in the locality’ and was ‘unreasonable’. I was banned for a year from filming cars in the area, contacting the councillor or her family, harassing people or posting images of anyone on social media without their written consent.

I appealed the notice on 10 May, but heard nothing for months, in spite of repeated chasing. Only at the end of September did I get a note that my appeal would be in November, and for various reasons this was then delayed until February the following year.

While I wait for my appeal, if I breach any of the conditions on the notice I will be committing a criminal offence, and this is whether or not the issue of the CPN was justified.

Filming people in public is not illegal, nor is sharing images taken in public spaces on social media, people who violate traffic regulations don’t have special protection, and councillors can expect emails from their constituents especially if they commit motoring offences.

Followers of my twitter account are outraged by the issue of this CPN and there are many messages of support. My evidence has helped numerous prosecutions and I have influenced the local council to implement traffic measures in certain areas.

The police responded very obligingly to the complaint by the councillor. Is it a coincidence that the councillor and her daughter, a former conservative MP candidate, have been members of the local Safer Neighbourhood Board and have regularly met the local police team?

Ealing Council and the local police appear to consider me a thorn in their side as I berate them regularly on Twitter. Ealing Council has complained about the number of my complaints about their inaction in the area of road safety.

What is also bad about having this CPN is that it emboldens people who don’t like what I do to harass and even assault me. People know I have the CPN and this makes them think they can do what they like.

There is a local barber who doesn’t like me because I filmed him once for parking in a place that was dangerous for school children. There have been a few incidents involving this man. Once he ran out of his shop and ran around 20 meters to where I was standing talking to a member of the public. He grabbed hold of me and wrestled my phone out of my hand. He was holding me with his fist in my face. Police officers were called, I assume by a member of the public.

But when the officers attended, they seemed more preoccupied with the fact I had a CPN issued against me than the fact I was a victim of crime. They treated the man who attacked me as the victim and myself as the offender. One of the officers asked me ‘how would your son feel if we arrested you and you spent 24 hours in the cells?’. The other officer on numerous occasions also said they could arrest me.

The police officers told me ‘You’re not meant to be filming in this area. You’re not meant to be interacting with people’ and so on. I corrected him that I was allowed to film in this area; my CPN forbids me from filming in a ward which this high street is not part of. The man who attacked me told the police that I had started the dispute.

I pointed out to the officer that he could check the High Street CCTV footage, which because of the location there would have been plenty to choose from. He agreed that as part of his investigation he would check the CCTV. I didn’t hear anything for about 10 days, so I contacted the 101 service to try and get an update on my case. They told me the case has been closed because of lack of evidence.

In another incident, when I walked past his barber’s shop, the man came out behind me and started shouting obscenities. I called 101, because I feared for my safety. They said that there was enough evidence to carry out a full investigation and passed the case to Ealing Police; the police should have contacted me within 7 days, but they didn’t.”