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Notice of Intended Prosecution after going through a RED ATS fitted with a camera at the instruction of a Police Officer - London, England, UK

On the 23rd of November at 19:43 I was driving my van southbound on Archway Road, and at the junction with Muswell Hill Road there was an Toyota Prius involved in an accident. There was a recovery truck and the truck blocked the northbound lane of the Archway Road in that particular junction. Both sides of the Archway Road were gridlocked by traffic.

Northbound traffic had to go around the recovery truck through the southbound lane to go past the junction.

Traffic was managed by a police officer and batches of vehicles going northbound and southbound had to take turns through the southbound lane through this junction.

Southbound lane of Archway Road has a red light camera fitted in that junction.

The traffic light was red and it was our turn to go through the junction and the lady officer was making clear and desperate hand signals for us to move forward through the junction.

I was skeptical as I saw the camera flash multiple times at the vehicles in front of me and we were going deas slow and I even stopped but the police officer made clear hand signals to move forward through the junction.

As soon as our batch of southbound going vehicles proceeded through the red light the flash started to take pictures in repeated bursts.

Today I received a Notice of Intended Prosecution for this alleged offence. In the supported evidence the recovery truck that blocks the junction is clearly visible. Recorded time into Red when I went through the junction was 20.6 seconds. There are other vehicles visible in the picture that are proceeding through the same junction through a red light
 

I don't have the option to challenge this letter so I would like to know what should I do now?

The officer is not clearly visible in the pictures as she was sitting slightly left and out of the traffic path.

How can I prove that the officer was managing the traffic in that junction at that particular time? If I was instructed by clear hand signals by a police officer to proceed through a red light, can I still be prosecuted?

Thank you!

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I'm not sure whether there is a specific exception in law for being directed by a constable in uniform, or whether it would fall under police/emergency services purposes, or whether it would simply just not be in the public interest to prosecute (once the facts were known).

I went looking for this recently as there was a Facebook post that questioned the legality of police in uniform directing you through a red light. I don't think it's the same incident as described in the OPs post, but who knows!

The Road Traffic Act 1988 appears to make it an offence to not comply with a traffic sign (s36), but then also appears to make it an offence to not comply with a police officers directions (s35). So.... what do you do?

The TSRGD 2016 Schedule 14 (5)(3) says that if a red signal is present, unless there is an exemption afforded by the same schedule, vehicles must not proceed past the stop line.
(14) of the same section says "vehicular traffic proceeding past the stop line must proceed with due regard to safety of the other road users, AND subject to any direction given by a constable or traffic officer in uniform [...]"

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/35
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/36
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/362/schedule/14/made