License to photograph coppers!

What about this?

A little while ago a staffer was photographing a ( peaceful ) demo. Police officer says ” If you either photograph me, or publish a photograph of me, I will consider it a breach of my human rights and take you all the way to the European Court. I am speaking to you both as a police officer, and as a private individual”.

Questions,

1) can he possibly stretch the new human rights legislation to prevent pictures?

2) Can he wear uniform & claim as a private individual?

Don’t know about 2, preliminary ( very off the cuff )

NUJ legal advice is:

“In respect of the police point – yes there is some truth in the privacy point but there is also the freedom of the press right which has to be balanced against this. If a picture of a police officer is taken in the context of a matter which is in the public interest then I cannot see how he could take a claim. Further point of course is that human rights actions can only be directly enforced against public authorities – not private companies or individuals. Any other claim would have to be piggy-backed onto another right – the policeman may therefore have difficulty in mounting a claim in the first place!”

I’m sure he won’t be the last to try & pull this one.