Practice

Police officer interviewing child and father regarding sexual abuse allegations no prosecution but subsequent report of police officer leading to care proceedings claims in negligence by father and child arguable and not struck out on basis of witness immunityL (A Child) and Another v Reading Borough Council and Another: CA (Lords Justices Otton and Keene and Mr Justice Maurice Kay): 12 March 2001Following the mothers allegations that the father had sexually abused their child, a social worker and a police officer interviewed the child and the father and concluded that the complaint was well-founded.

No criminal proceedings followed but the father contended that the contents of the interviews had subsequently been misrepresented, resulting in unnecessary family proceedings.

It subsequently transpired that the mother suffered from Munchausens syndrome by proxy and that the abuse allegations were fabricated.

The father and the child brought an action against the local authority and the chief constable claiming damages for, among other things, negligence.

The judge struck out their action as against the chief constable.

The claimants appealed.Andrew Edis QC and Nicholas Bowen (instructed by Thompson Leatherdale, Reading) for the claimants.

Edward Faulks QC and Andrew Warnock (instructed by Barlow Lyde Gilbert) for the chief constable.Held, allowing the appeal, that there was no distinction in principle between the situation whether it was fair just and reasonable to impose a duty of care and whether it was proportionate to defeat a claim on the ground of witness immunity; that, where a police officer had interviewed a person suspected of an alleged crime but had concluded that there was no evidence to support criminal proceedings, it was arguable that there was a legal assumption of responsibility and a special relationship between the officer and the former suspect sufficient to found a duty of care to take reasonable steps not to injure the former suspect by subsequent conduct; and that the action against the police should not be struck out on the basis of witness immunity in those circumstances.

(WLR)