THREE photographers who were detained by police at a Black Lives Matter protest have won compensation after a nine-year battle by their union.

The snappers, who are members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), were covering a protest at Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush in London on December 10, 2014.

Police told the photographers to leave the area and prevented them covering the subsequent arrests of 76 protesters. 

The Metropolitan Police has apologised and reached an out-of-court settlement. 

NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “While we are pleased this has been resolved and the police have apologised, the fact that it has taken so long to get to this stage is wholly unacceptable.

“Journalists must be allowed to do their job without any police interference and without their safety being compromised.

“The NUJ will continue to make this abundantly clear to the Metropolitan Police Service and other forces and will carry on representing and supporting members who have been treated unfairly.”