Couple held for 11 hours over school WhatsApp messages win £20,000 payout
A couple who were arrested, fingerprinted, and put in a police cell after complaining about their child’s school on WhatsApp have spoken out about their ordeal.
Rosalind Levine and her partner, Maxie Allen, say they were locked up for 11 hours after six uniformed officers arrested them in January on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications, and causing a nuisance on school property.
The police force originally defended the arrest, but they have now admitted it was unlawful and have agreed to a £20,000 payout, according to The Times.
Levine told Sky News that the incident remained inexplicable to her, saying: ‘We cannot fathom what happened; it doesn’t make any sense.’
Six police officers raided the parents’ home and arrested them in front of their daughter
‘We made a few inquiries, we had a bit of banter on a WhatsApp group, and then we were arrested,’ she added.
Cowley Hill Primary School, in the Hertfordshire town of Borehamwood, had made a complaint about the high volume of emails and the content of the WhatsApp messages.
The drama began in May 2024 when Mr. Allen, a former governor at the school, questioned why an open recruitment process was not carried out, hoping a meeting would be arranged to discuss.
However, his worries were left unanswered.
After ‘inflammatory and defamatory’ comments from the parents were seen by the school, Mr. Allen and Ms. Levine were banned from the site – meaning they missed their daughter’s parents’ evening and Christmas performance.
The school WhatsApp messages that led to six police officers raiding the couple’s home included Rosalind predicting their arrests in a joke about a 999 call
In December, a police officer told them to take their 10-year-old daughter Sascha – who is neurodivergent and suffers from epilepsy – out of school.
The couple did so, one week before they were arrested in January.
The force noted that the payout sum was ‘significantly above that required by the case law and reflects the constabulary’s desire to bring matters to a conclusion’.
The Times reported that the force admitted that the legal criteria for the arrest were ‘not made out’ and formally accepted liability for wrongful arrest and detention.
The messages were sent on a WhatsApp group with other parents
Another parent wrote in the group that everybody was talking about it in the playground
Despite this admission, Hertfordshire police still stand by their decision to investigate, due to the volume of correspondence sent by the parents to their daughter’s primary school.
The incident sparked a nationwide debate after the couple were searched and locked up in a cell for eight hours after the school reported them to the local police force.
Now, ten months after the arrest, Mr. Allen told The Times they are very pleased Hertfordshire police have recognized ‘albeit belatedly’ that their arrests were unlawful.
Technology & Business Editor
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