Channel 4 News Reports on Cloisters Barristers’ Victory in Broadbent v Police Federation of England and Wales

Recently, Channel 4 News broadcast an in-depth report by Ria Chatterjee about PC Lee Broadbent’s call for a public inquiry into the police's representative body, the Police Federation of England & Wales (PFEW). PC Lee Broadbent’s, request to the Home Secretary was made by reference to an Employment Tribunal decision that he and seven others, acting as test claimants for claims brought by nearly 10,000 PFEW members, had been subjected to age discrimination and victimisation by PFEW in failing to support, and indeed actively deterring and obstructing, a legal challenge brought by around 15,000 police officers against discriminatory provisions in the government's new police pension scheme (https://www.cloisters.com/insights/cloisterscounsel/complex/grouplitigationclaims).

The judgment was delivered following a five-week trial in 2022 and 2023, in which PC Broadbent and his fellow claimants were represented by Schona Jolly KC, Anna Beale and Laurene Veale (as well as Caroline Musgrave-Cohen, before her recent maternity leave), instructed by Kiran Daurka of Leigh Day.

The claims against PFEW are ongoing, and Schona, Anna and Laurene will represent test claimants to determine the remedy they should receive for PFEW’s age discrimination and victimisation at a further hearing in July 2024.

Channel 4’s exclusive report can be viewed here and the judgment can be found here.

This article was originally uploaded on 15 February 2024.