Immunity from suit

The parties were involved in an acrimonious sequence of litigation arising from the breakdown of their marriage. The defendant made statements to the police orally and, subsequently, in writing. The claimant was arrested for breaches of orders made in the matrimonial proceedings and detained for just over four hours. The Crown Prosecution Service decided that no further action should be taken. The claimant issued proceedings against the defendant for false imprisonment and harassment, under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The defendant relied on the witness immunity rule in both respects as to her complaint to the police. The court ruled that if proceedings were commenced and, if the events complained of had either led to those proceedings or occurred in the course of the proceedings, so that the court process was abused, then it was appropriate for the tort of malicious prosecution or a related tort based on malicious abuse of the process of court to be available so as to afford