Arrest and detention at police station

Arrangements for consultation with solicitors falling short of ideal - no breach of convention rightsR (M (A Minor)) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis; R (La Rose) v Same: QBD (Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Poole): 13 July 2001In the first case, the claimant minor was arrested for attempted robbery and possessing an offensive weapon.

At the police station he was interviewed by his solicitor in his cell.He sought a declaration that the commissioner's failure to provide a room in which to consult his solicitor breached his right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence, contrary to article 6(3)(b) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, as scheduled to the Human Rights Act 1998.In the second case, the claimant was arrested for taking and driving away and possession of cannabis.

He did not want to wait for his solicitor to arrive at the police station so he spoke to her over the telephone, which was on the custody sergeant's desk.He sought a declaration that the commissioner's failure to provide facilities for him to have a private telephone consultation with his solicitor breached his rights to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence, to defend himself through legal assistance and to respect for his privacy, contrary to articles 6(3)(b)(c) and 8 of the convention.Raza Husain (instructed by Hickman & Rose) for the claimants.

John Beggs (Solicitor, Metropolitan Police) for the commissioner.Held, refusing the applications, that although the convention guaranteed rights which were practical and effective, rather than theoretical or illusory, it did not exist to be invoked when the deprivation of a right was itself theoretical or illusory; and that, in each case, although the conditions for consultation between the claimants and their solicitors fell short of the ideal, on the detailed and considered facts there had in fact been no interference with convention rights.