A MAN accused of organising an anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protest in March has had the case against him dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Amar Sattar, 36, from Fell Lane in Keighley, had been charged with holding or being involved in holding a gathering of more than 30 people on specific outdoor land in a Tier 4 area, to which he pleaded not guilty in June.

The charge related to the Unite the North protest held in Bradford on March 27, when several hundred people descended on the city centre to protest whilst the country was in lockdown to try to control the spread of Covid-19.

During the protest, 13 people were arrested and 19 people fined, and nine police officers were injured.

A small group of protesters tried to storm a vaccination clinic.

Following the drawing-up of legal argument against the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 that Mr Sattar was charged with breaching, the Crown Prosecution Service decided to no longer pursue a conviction against him.

The service said it had dropped the case due to “insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction”.

Mr Sattar never denied attending the demonstration – and in fact worked with police to try to make sure the protest went ahead safely – but afterwards he was arrested, on what he called “the worst day of my life”.

He said the arrest, charge and initial court hearing were “very distressing”.

In a statement, he said his solicitor Sajad Chaudhury and counsel Hannah Thomas wanted to "air the issue of my fundamental human rights and ability to participate in a protest even during the Covid pandemic”, and his legal team challenged the law he was charged with breaking.

He had next been due in court on October 13, but the day before – having considered the defence’s argument – the Crown Prosecution Service discontinued its case against Mr Sattar.

Mr Sattar added: “I would like to thank my legal team, led by Sajad Chaudhury of Harewood Law and Hannah Thomas of 2 Hare Court Chambers London, who went over and above what was required of them.

“I would like to thank my family, my friends and all those people who showed me so much support across social media platforms during this difficult time.

“My faith in the criminal justice system has been restored.”

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “We have a duty to keep cases under continuous review so that they are stopped if they no longer meet our legal test for prosecution.

“With this specific case we have now decided there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.”