Two protesters clubbed by police officers during a Gaza demonstration outside the Israeli embassy have received £25,000 in compensation from the Metropolitan Police.

The men, twin brothers Ashley and Russell Inglis, had been part of the protests against Operation Cast Lead last January when 119 people were arrested and 55 police officers were injured.

According to Channel 4 News, they received an apology from the Metropolitan Police which said: "Whilst it has not been possible to identify who struck you and caused your injuries, the investigation into the events established there was no reason to suspect that you were acting in a violent way, and there, should not have been struck with a baton."

No officer has been punished.

Ashley Inglis, a screenwriter, whose brother is a trainee solicitor, was one of 17 complainants which were filed with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

He told Channel 4 News: "I was shocked this could happen to me. That someone could step forward and smack me over the head with a baton for doing nothing. That sheer kind of outrage, carried us through the complaints and then taken a civil case.

"I am sure there are other cases out there that could be successful and one thing we're thinking of doing with the some of the money we've got is putting it into a fund for people to bring cases."
Tomorrow 10 of the 30 protesters who have been sent to prison will appeal their sentence.