Today, Manchester City Council went to Manchester County Court to try and enforce an injunction which could have led to seven defendants facing up to two years in prison.
The injunction, granted in July (see here), forbids people from "erecting and/or occupying tents or other movable temporary forms of accommodation for the purposes of or in connection with protests or similar events arising from or connected with the claimant's [Manchester City Council] homeless policy on land", within a specified area of the city.
Members of the Homeless Camp claim that they are not protesting about the Council's homeless policy, just erecting a safe space to sleep. Indeed, in court today, the Council presented no evidence of what the defendants are alleged to have done to break the injunction. It was "Wholly inappropriate to seek to commit people to prison in the absence of an allegation of a breach" said Circuit Judge Gore
Dr Rhetta Moran, of the human rights group RAPAR, who was in court all day added: "Judge Gore was compelled to describe Manchester City Council's application to the courts for homeless people to be imprisoned as containing a `fundamental defect' because they did `not set out, with any particularity, behaviours perceived to be in breach of injunction...' No dates, no descriptions...
"He went on to describe the Council's actions as `A fundamentally misconceived and inappropriate way to advance criminal proceedings, where the party [Manchester City Council] seeks that the court orders to commit people to prison'" she added.
The judge dismissed the Council's application to have the defendants committed, although the injunction still stands. Costs were awarded to the defendants.
Earlier, Manchester City Council had also sought to enforce a possession order on the small strip of land on Oxford Road where tents have been erected following the eviction of The Ark nearby twelve days ago (see here). Given that the Council was not party to the original order which was brought by Manchester Metropolitan University, this was again dismissed by the judge, listing "serious failures to comply with the rules, practice directions and court orders." And, again, costs running into thousands of pounds were awarded to the defendants.
Speaking after the case, solicitor Simon Pook of Robert Lizar's which represented one of the defendants, slated Manchester City Council...
"Today's cases only served to waste council tax payers' money" he said "People must ask themselves `Is trying to reclaim a strip of land 3ft wide and 20ft long a good use of tax payers money?' Manchester City Council must look at other ways to assist the street homeless people of Manchester."
Rhetta Moran of RAPAR agreed: "Why should we trust a public body, i.e. the leaders of Manchester City Council, who would even think about, let alone actually physically try using our money, to abuse the legal processes of this country, against anyone, homeless or not, in this way?
"On Sunday" she added "RAPAR will be marching alongside everyone else who rejects the austerity, and the racism that underpins it, being advanced by those in Government and their Labour DevoManc friends in the leadership of Manchester City Council."
And Simon Pook concluded: "Justice is for everyone, not just the elite. Today we got justice, we won the battle, but the war simmers..."
See also previous related Salford Star article...
Manchester Metropolitan University slated by its own staff after eviction - click here