Councils have spent nearly £1/4 billion over the past 5 years on settlement agreements with staff leaving their jobs. Many of the legally-binding agreements contain gagging clauses, preventing former employees from speaking out about poor performance or bad management. Also - the allegations that women at an anti-fracking protest were grabbed and groped inappropriately by police - a claim denied by the force concerned. But the demonstrators say it was technique that was designed to intimidate them.