Leeds United go to High Court over police charges

Leeds United are taking West Yorkshire Police to the High Court, over claims that the Championship club were wrongly charged for match day policing bills.The club say that the cost of policing certain areas around Elland Road - such as car parks and public highways - should not come at extra cost to the football club. Policing those areas, which are not owned or controlled by the club, cannot be categorised as Special Police Services (SPS), for which charges can be levied, the club says.

This week, Leeds United will ask Mr Justice Eady to declare that the charges are wrong and to order a refund of alleged overpayments. Leeds United say that their policing bill has increased from about £250,000 in the 2007-08 season to more than £1 million in 2011-12.

"LUFC's position is that policing on the public highway, on land not owned or controlled by it, where such policing is conducted for the purpose of maintaining public order or the prevention of the obstruction of the public highway, is not capable of constituting SPS," the club's barrister, Michael Beloff QC, told the court.

"Rather, this constitutes normal policing duties within the scope of a constable's normal common law obligations.

"As such, WYP's insistence on charging LUFC for such policing is illegal, as it is an attempt to charge a private citizen for the normal costs of policing, when such a citizen is entitled to expect such services to be provided by the police pursuant to their duties to the public."

Mr Beloff will claim that the prices levied by the force are "unreasonable", , since the charges are much higher than the overtime rates paid to officers.

For the police, John Beggs QC argues that the club's stance on the issue is misconceived and that charging for policing within the stadium's "extended footprint" on matchdays is entirely legitimate.

He said the area is a "tightly drawn and strategically determined" boundary, continuing: "It was designed to include those areas in the immediate vicinity of the stadium where members of the public are present exclusively for the purposes of attending LUFC's matches and where police resources have most commonly needed to be deployed to protect those individuals by preventing violence and disorder."

The hearing continues.