Cyclist's £4.8m claim against three forces can proceed

A cyclist's £4.8m damages claim against three police forces and the police watchdog can go to trial, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Gijsbert van Buuren is suing the police forces of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire - as well as the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), over allegations of "misfeasance in a public office".

He claims that all four bodies helped to conceal Cambridgeshire Police's falsifying reports after he was knocked off his bike in Histon, near Cambridge, in August 2013, in which he was seriously injured.

Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos said it was "critical" for public confidence in policing that complaints against forces were not "ignored".

While Cambridgeshire Police officers reported that he had fallen off his bike, van Buuren was later told by witnesses that he had been clipped by a passing car, the judgement said.

The cyclist, who has no recollection of the crash and is representing himself, is now suing for £4.8m in damages.

In January 2025, he had most of his claims against Cambridgeshire Police thrown out, as well as all of his claims against Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire and the IOPC.

He challenged the decision at the Court of Appeal, claiming that the High Court should have ruled in his favour before a trial, as he had received no explanation for what had happened and was the victim of "untargeted malice".

In a ruling on Tuesday, Sir Geoffrey, sitting with Lady Justice Asplin and Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing, said that lawyers for the three forces and the IOPC conceded that the bodies consented to the claims being reinstated.

The judge added: "There are some concerning allegations about Mr van Buuren's physical treatment at the scene of the accident and in relation to how and when he was taken to hospital, which I would not discount as necessarily irrelevant at this stage.

"I suggested in the course of the hearing that the defendants may not have been taking the allegations made against them sufficiently seriously.

"It is critical, if public confidence in the police and in the complaints processes relating to them are to be maintained, that cases of this kind are neither ignored nor swept under the carpet."

A trial in the claim could take place before the end of the year.

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