A couple wrongly arrested after drones brought Gatwick Airport to a standstill in the run-up to Christmas could have “strong claims” for invasion of privacy, according to a media law specialist.

It follows Sir Cliff Richard’s privacy win against the BBC last summer over its coverage of a police raid on his home as officers probed historical allegations of sex abuse made against him – later dropped entirely.

Paul Gait, 47, and his wife Elaine Kirk, 54, were named and pictured on the front pages of four national Sunday newspapers on 23 December as Sussex Police detained them in connection with the drone chaos.