A journalist working for LBC says she was “absolutely terrified” after being handcuffed, searched and held in a police cell for five hours after she filmed Just Stop Oil protests in Hertfordshire.
Charlotte Lynch said she was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance while standing on a road bridge near Junction 21 in Hertfordshire, on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Ms Lynch told LBC host Nick Ferrari that she had been reporting on the protest for around 40 minutes before two Hertfordshire Police officers approached her and questioned her.
She said she showed her press card and explained she was a member of the media.
She was asked how she arrived at the bridge and how she knew to be there, and then was handcuffed, had her phone “snatched away” and was searched on the side of the road.
Her devices were taken away and she was placed in a van and driven to Stevenage police station, in a journey that took more than an hour, she said.
“It dawned on me, gosh I could be charged here, and everything runs through your mind, ‘Have I actually commited this offence?’ even though I knew I hadn’t.
“I was searched again, all my DNA was taken, swabs in my mouth, fingerprints, my entire hands, I had a mughsot taken.
“I was taken down to a cell... that’s really when it hits. Imagine a prison cell with a bed in one corner and a metal toilet in the other.”
Ms Lynch said she stayed in the cell for five hours before she was released at 3pm with no further action taken.
“I was never questioned,” she said.
On Twitter, Ms Lynch said it was “absolutely terrifying” being a cell. “I was just doing my job,” she wrote.
Meanwhile documentary filmmaker Rich Delgate wrote on Twitter that he and another photographer were arrested by Hertfordshie Police on Tuesday morning while filming the protest from a public footbridge over the M25.
Yesterday, myself, a documentary filmmaker and @tomsdinner, a press photographer, got arrested by @HertsPolice whilst filming the @JustStopOil protest from a public footbridge over the #M25.
— Rich Felgate (@richfelgate) November 8, 2022
🧵.... pic.twitter.com/PiEO3hd2Tu
Mr Delgate said the pair were held in custody for “about 13 hours” and questioned by police.
“Police had no interest in seeing press ID and handcuffed us instantly on arrival,” he tweeted.
Mr Delgate said they were released and no further action was taken.
Hertfordshire Police said it recognises concerns over the arrests of journalists and “additional measures are now in place” so that members of the media are able to do their job.
It said it was “requesting an independent force to examine our approach to these arrests and to identify any learning we should take in managing these challenging situations”.
It comes as Just Stop Oil protesters caused disruption on the M25 for a third day on Wednesday.
A police officer riding a motorbike was injured in a crash involving two lorries after dealing with a protester on the motorway.
