Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police v Paul Nugent

An arrest is lawful only if the officer honestly believes that arrest is necessary for a statutory reason and that belief has objectively reasonable grounds. Necessity does not require arrest to be a last resort, or every alternative to have been considered. The court must assess the circumstances known to the officer at the time. An alternative unavailable at the arrest date cannot establish that arrest was objectively unnecessary. On appeal, the court may determine the objective reasonableness of the belief for itself, while exercising restraint in reviewing factual and evaluative findings. Fairness also requires a party relying on a critical alternative or factual premise to identify it in advance, particularly where a material witness cannot give oral evidence.

The Chief Constable appealed against a County Court judgment awarding Mr Nugent £8,620 for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and trespass. The arrest followed allegations of stalking involving fear of violence by a former partner. The trial judge accepted that the arresting officer honestly believed arrest was necessary, but found no objectively reasonable grounds for that belief because less intrusive measures, including a search warrant, voluntary interview and an interim stalking protection order, could have achieved the relevant objectives.

The appeal raised the proper approach to necessity, the significance of alternatives, delay, unchallenged evidence and the availability of an interim stalking protection order on 7 January 2020.

1. Appeal allowed. The County Court’s judgment was set aside and Mr Nugent’s claim was dismissed. Remittal was unnecessary because the issue of objective reasonableness was suitable for determination by the appeal court.
2. Under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s 24, lawful arrest requires reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed and reasonable grounds for believing that arrest is necessary for a prescribed statutory reason. The officer’s belief is subjective, but the grounds for it are assessed objectively.
3. Necessity means more than desirability or convenience. It does not require arrest to be the last resort, proof that no viable alternative existed, or consideration of every possible alternative. The question is whether, on the information known to the officer at the time, there were objectively reasonable grounds for the belief that arrest was necessary.
4. The absence of evidence that an officer considered alternatives does not automatically make the belief unreasonable. Conversely, an officer’s failure to consider every material circumstance does not prevent the belief from having reasonable grounds if the circumstances objectively supported it.
5. The interim stalking protection order was not an available or foreseeable practical alternative on 7 January 2020. The Stalking Protection Act was not then in force, and the commencement order had not been made. The trial judge’s conclusion depended on treating that order, together with a search warrant and voluntary interview, as a less intrusive package. Once the order was excluded, no remaining basis for the finding of objectively unreasonable grounds was identified.
6. The issue of alternative measures had not been pleaded or advanced in the trial skeleton argument. Raising it for the first time in cross-examination, on an inaccurate premise about the order’s availability, was unfair, particularly when the arresting officer could not give oral evidence. The appeal court was therefore entitled to review the judge’s evaluation.
7. Delay may bear on the objective reasonableness of the officer’s belief because that question focuses on the facts known to the officer. However, the trial judge did not rely on delay in reaching his conclusion.

• High Court (King’s Bench Division): Appeal from the County Court at Manchester. Appeal allowed; the judgment dated 1 July 2025 was set aside and the claim dismissed.
• County Court at Manchester: HHJ Khan awarded Mr Nugent £8,620 for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and trespass.