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Gatwick drones: Sussex Police criticised for unpublished report

BBC Paul and Elaine Gait said at the time they felt 'violated' by Sussex PoliceBBC
Sussex Police apologised to Paul and Elaine Gait after it emerged they did not possess any drones and had been at work during the reported sightings

A couple wrongly arrested over the Gatwick Airport drone chaos have criticised Sussex Police for failing to publish a report into the incident.

Flights were cancelled in droves in December 2018, as police investigated multiple reported drone sightings.

Armed officers stormed the home of Paul and Elaine Gait, who received a £55,000 settlement for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.

Sussex Police said the report contains national security details.

The force commissioned the independent review into what happened following the chaos.

The PA news agency submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for a copy of the report a year ago, but the force failed to release the document or officially respond to the request.

After months of saying a redacted version of the report was being prepared, Sussex Police now says it is applying part of the FOI Act that exempts information "held with a view to future publication without setting a date".

PA Waiting passengersPA
Airport chiefs said 120,000 people due to arrive or fly had not been able to travel

Nobody has been charged over the disruption.

In a joint statement, Mr and Mrs Gait said: "This appears to us, not about lessons learned and preventing harm in the future, but about protecting the reputation of the Sussex Police force from scrutiny and criticism of our pain, and the unlawfulness and injustice that occurred to us.

"This most recent failure to deal with us fairly and openly is an opportunity lost in giving us some measure of the truth and reconciliation we are owed."

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "The report contained sensitive details that relate to operational policing and national security.

"We shared our learning with partners in policing and the aviation industry nationally and around the world at the time, with public safety the priority."

Getty Images DroneGetty Images
The drone sightings affected around 1,000 flights in the run up to Christmas

Conservative MP Henry Smith, whose constituency includes Gatwick Airport, speculated that Sussex Police were "embarrassed" about what the report contains.

Sussex police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne said the report includes "significant detail which should not be published for reasons of national and operational security".

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