UK Search warrant - was it valid, can i sue ?

I am not a UK resident or UK domiciled. Police broke down the door of my friend's house were I was visiting without even ringing the door bell. They had a search warrant with no name on it, only the address (although they were looking for me). They searched the house for weapons and drugs and of course did not find anything as this was someone's idea of a joke. The Police cannot tell me who accused me but I think it is someone who for reasons I dont understand thinks I was dishonest to him in business and wanted to get back to me. My questions: 1. search warrant without (my) name on it, is that allowed ? 2. Can the police do this based on an unfounded rumour ? 3. Can I sue the police ? what are my chances ? 4. The door needed to be replaced ? Can I write to the claims dept ? What are my chances ? Should I not botter ? 5. Can I sue the person who made the false claims ? Can I find out who it was ? Thank you.

too answer ur questions

1) yes they can it was a property search.. They dont need a name just an address
2)The police wont act on a unfounded rumour they will need hard eveidence to act on it. They will need to prove this should it come to court.
3)Why do you want to sue the police? Its not your property you dont own it. and your not as u put it a resident of the uk. You have to prove that they were acting out side of their job to sue them. Sounds like their were doing their job. You cant sue the police for doing their job.
4) Only the owner of the property can make a claim for the door which was broken down. The police are obliged to repair any damage that was caused by them in their investigation. Unless it is used in evidence.
5) You can sue the person who made the false claim if it is proven to be false. This would need to go to court for that to happen. Until then its only an alligation not fact.
6) You can find out should it go to court who that person was but until that time the police need to protect their source in case you take revenge on them.

Maybe you shouldnt have upset the person to such a degree that he/she made them claims against you. However the police will not act on just 1 persons claims with out finding more to back those claims up. People go to the police every day with such claims. The police need to look into them before acting. Because people have sucessfuly sued the police in the past they tend to make sure that the process they use to take gain a search warrent is valid. A search warrent isnt issued without a reason. There had to be a reasonable amount of eveidence for such a warrent. You will have a hard time proving that it wasnt a valid search.

As your not a uk resident it sounds like all you want to do is make some money out of this.

See link for the law as some asked about search warrents a few weeks back.

If you are serious about pursuing this you should be talking to a lawyer. Following generic legal advice you got online is a very bad idea.

I would think that as it was the property that was to be searched then unless you were targeted then it could've been legal? Breaking doors down is usually done if the police feel that there might be weapons used if they were to announce themelves...or very least that any susupect could dispose of drugs down the toilet, etc?
If you've made enemies then sources I would imagine can be annonymous but they would need very strong evidence to intrude or suspect that someone was at risk, i.e; child's life in the event of hostage taking...but that's another line?
Either you're very, very unlucky or are playing some sort of game with whoever..........If you are totally innocent then I'd say you had a claim, or at least justification of one, but remember the law isn't fair...particularly if you are innocent?

You better get one thing straight. American law does not apply in the UK. I suspect the polce did it all in accordance with their laws, but you would need to engage a barrister to properly advise you.

Also, you left out an awful lot in your complaint. I suspect from what you said that there may have been good reason for what the police did, considering your mention of someone who blamed you for dishonesty.

Many young Americans get into serious trouble thinking American laws apply in foreign countries. For example selling marijuana in the US is a relatively minor crime. In Singapore it can bring the death penalty. In Turkey they can jail you and throw away the key, and there is nothing the American government can do about it

I bet they were all big bruts.

Mmmmm smells proper fishy to me! Thats a funny question for a newbee.

The best thing you can do is consult a lawyer and get proper legal advice...good luck

The real question is............ Why were they looking for you ??

You say your not a UK resident, or domiciled, so I assume your here illegally ??

If you are in the UK illegally - piss off back to where you came from !

1. Yes. Search warrants in UK are generally for addresses not people.
2. No - see 3
3. Yes - slim. They have satisfied a magistrate that there was sufficient grounds to issue the warrant.
4. No. Your friend can, though.
5. Yes but the police won't tell you who it was - there is a huge amount of case law relating to protection of people giving information in confidence.

Imagine the police not ringing the bell before they came in,shame on them!in my experience (HAD TWO POLICE RAIDS ) they do not do it lightly on someones idea of a joke. They are looking for something or someone specific.No you can't sue the police for doing their job. I don't usually stick up for the plod but come on ...................................Daveh ,l wanted to say that as well !!you took the words out of my mouth.

1,Yes. 2 Yes, if they believe they have a strong enough case after all it would have been issued by the courts. 3, No. 4, Don't bother. 5 you can try

1) The police CANNOT execute a search warrant without your name on it 2) Generally no the police cannot get a search warrant based on a rumour it's hearsay, unless they have reasonable grounds to belive there's drugs in your house then no they cannot get a warrant 3) Yep you can sue the police for unlawful search and damage to your door 4) The police must replace the damage done to your door 5) Yep you can sue the person for libel and slander. The police have no legal obligation to inform you of who made the accusations. Yep you write to your claims court, it's up to you, you will have to fork up the money for a lawyer and court room costs, and all you will get in return is money for the door replacing.