High Court awards indemnity costs in favour of Norfolk Police

Following the dismissal last year of the Claimants’ claims for malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office, Norfolk Police sought payment of their trial costs on the indemnity basis. The trial judge, Mr Justice Cotter, has handed down judgment acceding to that application, observing that various aspects of the Claimants’ conduct of the trial “amount to unreasonable behaviour that amply merit the award of indemnity costs on the limited basis sought”. The judgment can be found here:

Breeze and Wilson v Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary [2026] EWHC 1937 (KB)

Cotter J accepted the Defendant’s submission that the Claimants’ pursuit of the claim to trial was so unreasonable as to take their conduct “out of the norm”. The following aspects of the evidence and/or the points taken at trial were highlighted:

• The absence of any realistic prospect of establishing malice on the evidence.
• The pursuit of an unreasonably extensive factual enquiry without focus on the causes of action.
• The dogged pursuit of widespread allegations akin to serious dishonesty against a number of officers over a significant period of time.
• The inclusion of allegations that were in some respects far-fetched and/or irreconcilable with the contemporaneous documents.
• The running of an inconsistent case/arguments on the central issue of the officers’ alleged “mindset of guilt”.
• The Claimants’ blindness to any criticism of their own conduct which might reasonably have supported the allegations made against them.
• The presentation of evidence in support of allegations which, reasonably viewed, had no probative value for the causes of action alleged.

Finally, the Judge roundly rejected the Claimants’ submission that the Defendant should be denied indemnity costs because of a failure to pursue an application for strike out/summary judgment and/or because of its own conduct of the proceedings.

This decision finally marks the end of this exceptionally long-running and hard-fought litigation, initially commenced in 2015. Charlotte Ventham KC has acted for Norfolk Police throughout.