A maverick landlord who has hit the headlines countless times in recent years has lost his latest bid to sue the police.
Fergus Wilson – at one time thought to be Britain’s largest landlord with up to 1,000 properties in his and his wife’s portfolio – is reported by the local media in Kent to have made attempts to sue the police for wrongful arrest.
He was reportedly detained for over nine hours following a complaint of sexual touching by a tenant; no charge was ever brought.
Kent Online reports: “Wilson demanded Kent Police pay him £80,000 for unlawful arrest and false imprisonment, £200,000 loss of earnings for the day he spent in the police station and £720,000 for stress, anxiety and inconvenience.”
Wilson’s claim against the police was rejected three years ago at Lewes County Court and now reached the Court of Appeal – where it was also rejected on the basis that the appeal had no prospect of success and did not give rise to any question of wider importance.
He told Kent Online: “I got arrested prematurely, and I would say the officer didn’t have reasonable suspicion to arrest me. There was no evidence. They had me in for interview and it didn’t take very long to see this wasn’t going anywhere.”
Some 15 months ago Wilson, who has reportedly become a millionaire through his buy to let investments, was the subject of a permanent injunction by the High Court.
The case was brought by Ashford council in Kent, where Wilson has the bulk of his investment properties. Wilson can now only contact staff or councillors through a named legal advisor.
At the time, Ashford council presented to the court a file of 454 pieces of correspondence sent by Wilson to council officials in the space of just over four years, between February 2016 and July 2020.
The QC hearing the case in September 2021 said he had “no hesitation” in setting the permanent injunction. “The defendant’s conduct repeatedly went far beyond merely irritating and annoying, it was deliberately offensive” he commented.
Wilson has for some years been a controversial figure, seemingly championing landlords against red tape but often being accused of racist and other offensive comments, which he has denied.
