David Cameron is being urged to issue an apology to two brothers caught up in student protests in Westminster in 2010 who are to receive £25,000 each in compensation from the Metropolitan police.

The settlement came after Christopher and Andrew Hilliard sued the police force for malicious prosecution, assault and battery. Christopher, 27, and Andrew, 22, will be completely exonerated, with their custody photographs erased from police files.

During one of the most infamous incidents of the widespread student protests, the two brothers were accused of pulling a police officer from a horse. They were later cleared of violent disorder.

At the time the prime minister was quoted as saying police had been “dragged off horses and beaten” and those responsible should face the full force of the law. But it was later alleged that the officer referred to by Cameron had failed to secure his saddle.

After the coalition government decided to treble university tuition fees, a wave of student-led demonstrations spread across the country in 2010. In the first major protest, on 10 November, tens of thousands of students poured down Whitehall and some demonstrators stormed the Tory party headquarters – smashing windows and gaining access to the roof.



Speaking to Channel 4 News, Jennifer Hilliard, the mother of the two boys who has tirelessly protested their innocence, said she thought Cameron owed them an apology. “I think there was an assumption of guilt. There were a number of officers who clearly saw the boys engaging with the officer on the horse and made assumptions. Cameron did the same thing. He made an assumption that these boys were guilty.”



Christopher Hilliard added: “I used to have a very positive view, now it’s a very negative view. Through all these things that have happened I certainly don’t trust the police. We were told by our lawyers that the likelihood of us being found not guilty, due to the number of police witnesses, was extraordinarily low.

“It’s only due to the fact that we were able with our mum to put together a lot of data, a lot of video footage for the trial, that we were able to be found not guilty through a lot of hard work. But, yes, I frequently worried that I was going to go to prison, that I was going to be incarcerated for something that was not of our doing at all.”

A spokesperson for the Met said: “The Metropolitan police service has settled civil claims brought by Christopher Hilliard and Andrew Hilliard following their arrest during a protest on 9 December 2010. The claimants have also been given a written apology confirming that they should not have been arrested and expressing regret for the distress and injury suffered.”