Sunlight in the shade
I received 3 spam emails this afternoon asking for donations. The first two I deleted very quickly, but the third attracted my attention enough to investigate further. The shady organisation calls itself the Sunlight Centre for Open Politics. The Founder is that bounder Paul Staines, who describes himself as "Irish entrepreneur and investor in internet ventures". It may be recalled that he had links with the NF/BNP. And more recently has been prosecuted twice for drink driving and driving without insurance.
The Research Director is Chris Galley, the former civil servant who acted as a traitor and was a spy for the Conservative Party and his handler was Damian Green, who managed to escape prosecution.
I am disappointed to see that Mike Rouse is associating himself with such dodgy characters.
Whilst I am in favour of honesty in politics, the Sunlight Centre for Open Politics is akin to making Nick Griffen the Minister for Immigration.
I suspect that Paul Staines has had one Acid trip too many and addled his brain, or a bull's horns has left him brain damaged, or he is on one gigantic ego trip.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
Site Meter
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Whatever happened to Gingersnaps?
Whatever happened to Gingersnaps?
Update: To avoid any confusion, I thought what RonKnee put into words in the comments as a response to James' comment, so here's a photo of the real Gingersnaps...
Update: To avoid any confusion, I thought what RonKnee put into words in the comments as a response to James' comment, so here's a photo of the real Gingersnaps...
Tiger has the right idea during the heat wave
Tiger has the right idea during the heat wave
A Siberian tiger takes to the water for the first time at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, as temperatures top 26C.
A Siberian tiger takes to the water for the first time at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, as temperatures top 26C.
Blogger who wrote about killing Girls Aloud cleared
Blogger who wrote about killing Girls Aloud cleared
A blogger who was charged with obscenity after he wrote an erotic story detailing the kidnap, sexual torture and murder of the pop group Girls Aloud was cleared at court yesterday after prosecutors offered no evidence against him.
Darryn Walker's case was the first time that the 1959 Obscene Publications Act had been applied to written material on the internet. His case was regarded as a test which could have had far-reaching ramifications for bloggers and publishers of online fiction.
But yesterday, on what was supposed to be the first day of Mr Walker's trial, the case was abandoned following the introduction of evidence from an information technology expert.
He maybe a perv, but freedom of speech prevailed. Incidentally, Tim Owen was the first barrister to take up my prison law cases way back in the early 1990s.
A blogger who was charged with obscenity after he wrote an erotic story detailing the kidnap, sexual torture and murder of the pop group Girls Aloud was cleared at court yesterday after prosecutors offered no evidence against him.
Darryn Walker's case was the first time that the 1959 Obscene Publications Act had been applied to written material on the internet. His case was regarded as a test which could have had far-reaching ramifications for bloggers and publishers of online fiction.
But yesterday, on what was supposed to be the first day of Mr Walker's trial, the case was abandoned following the introduction of evidence from an information technology expert.
He maybe a perv, but freedom of speech prevailed. Incidentally, Tim Owen was the first barrister to take up my prison law cases way back in the early 1990s.
Prisoners Votes Case aired on the Iain Dale radio show
Prisoners Votes Case aired on the Iain Dale radio show
Last Friday night I was arguing the Prisoners Votes Case on the Iain Dale radio show. I came on twice from about 20 minutes in. Well worth a listen to hear me get the better of Iain Dale on my pet subject. Also apart from one idiotic listener who responded that the idea was stupid, the callers and those who emailed were in support of the prisoners votes.
Listen again here.
I thank Iain for giving this subject air time, even if his bias kept showing through. I think it is better when presenters keep an open mind because battling against prejudice, ignorance and fear is an uphill struggle.
Last Friday night I was arguing the Prisoners Votes Case on the Iain Dale radio show. I came on twice from about 20 minutes in. Well worth a listen to hear me get the better of Iain Dale on my pet subject. Also apart from one idiotic listener who responded that the idea was stupid, the callers and those who emailed were in support of the prisoners votes.
Listen again here.
I thank Iain for giving this subject air time, even if his bias kept showing through. I think it is better when presenters keep an open mind because battling against prejudice, ignorance and fear is an uphill struggle.
Michael Jackson: Worth more dead than alive - That's why they killed him
Michael Jackson: Worth more dead than alive - That's why they killed him
Last night I was listening to Michael Jackson's father talking about burying Michael Jackson at the Neverland ranch. It will become a shrine. Just like Elvis and Diana. I suspect that even had a come back tour gone ahead, the mountain of debt would still have been higher than the profits. Without the outlay costs of the come back tour, the tourist attraction of visiting Michael Jackson's grave and selling merchandise is pure profit. Hence, he is worth more dead than alive. That is a strong motive.
Michael Jackson: family to finalise funeral plans
Last night I was listening to Michael Jackson's father talking about burying Michael Jackson at the Neverland ranch. It will become a shrine. Just like Elvis and Diana. I suspect that even had a come back tour gone ahead, the mountain of debt would still have been higher than the profits. Without the outlay costs of the come back tour, the tourist attraction of visiting Michael Jackson's grave and selling merchandise is pure profit. Hence, he is worth more dead than alive. That is a strong motive.
Michael Jackson: family to finalise funeral plans
Monday, June 29, 2009
Could it be the end of one-company broadband in Hull?
Could it be the end of one-company broadband in Hull?
Viking FM has exclusively learned K-Com's dominance in Hull's broadband market could end within weeks.
We've been told a new company, called Fibrestream, has been given permission to start installing fibre optic cables into the city, providing internet, HDTV and phone services.
These are currently only available through K-Com's Karoo service.
Once installed, users will have speeds of up to 100MB per second download speed. That compares to Karoo's 8MB a second service, and Lord Carter's pledge to offer every home has 2MB speed by 2012.
It could mean it would be possible to download and watch an hour long TV programme in around 1 minute.
Guy Jarvis, the CEO of Fibrestream, explains how the technology works:
"Instead of the copper wires which we've been using for the last one-hundred years, next-generation access is putting fibre optics in.
"Basically what that involves is putting a number of tubes into the building, and then you have an individual fibre which is about the size of a human hair, which comes into each of the flats" he said.
Great Thornton Street Estate the first to benefit
But superfast broadband won't be just for the super rich. In fact, we've learned the first people to benefit from this new service live on one of the poorest estates in the city.
Fibrestream are making the service available to people on the Great Thornton Street Estate; at first it will be available to around 400 flats on the estate.
They hope then to introduce it to the Orchard Park estate.
"If you look back at Hull over the course of the 20th century, we were very much at the forefront in terms of telecommunications.
"Part of what we're doing is a contribution to putting Hull back on the map, and putting us back at the forefront of telecommunications in the 21st century".
Viking FM has exclusively learned K-Com's dominance in Hull's broadband market could end within weeks.
We've been told a new company, called Fibrestream, has been given permission to start installing fibre optic cables into the city, providing internet, HDTV and phone services.
These are currently only available through K-Com's Karoo service.
Once installed, users will have speeds of up to 100MB per second download speed. That compares to Karoo's 8MB a second service, and Lord Carter's pledge to offer every home has 2MB speed by 2012.
It could mean it would be possible to download and watch an hour long TV programme in around 1 minute.
Guy Jarvis, the CEO of Fibrestream, explains how the technology works:
"Instead of the copper wires which we've been using for the last one-hundred years, next-generation access is putting fibre optics in.
"Basically what that involves is putting a number of tubes into the building, and then you have an individual fibre which is about the size of a human hair, which comes into each of the flats" he said.
Great Thornton Street Estate the first to benefit
But superfast broadband won't be just for the super rich. In fact, we've learned the first people to benefit from this new service live on one of the poorest estates in the city.
Fibrestream are making the service available to people on the Great Thornton Street Estate; at first it will be available to around 400 flats on the estate.
They hope then to introduce it to the Orchard Park estate.
"If you look back at Hull over the course of the 20th century, we were very much at the forefront in terms of telecommunications.
"Part of what we're doing is a contribution to putting Hull back on the map, and putting us back at the forefront of telecommunications in the 21st century".
Michael Jackson remains to go on show in China
Michael Jackson remains to go on show in China
Click on image to enlarge for the joke
Click on image to enlarge for the joke
Private prisons 'performing worse than state-run jails'
Private prisons 'performing worse than state-run jails'
Report pours scorn on Government claim that private sector is raising standards
By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
"Britain's private prisons are performing worse than those run by the state, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The findings, based on the overall performances of 132 prisons in England and Wales, appear to undermine claims by ministers that the greater use of private jails is raising standards for the accommodation of more than 83,000 prisoners held across both sectors.
Separate figures, also released under the right-to-know law, show that nearly twice as many prisoner complaints are upheld in private prisons as they are in state-run institutions.
The Government is committed to building five more private prisons to accommodate the growing prison population, which is predicted to rise to 96,000 by 2014. But the poor performance ratings among 40 per cent of private prisons in England and Wales throw into question the cost savings and other benefits of using outside businesses to tackle the prison crisis".
Report pours scorn on Government claim that private sector is raising standards
By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
"Britain's private prisons are performing worse than those run by the state, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The findings, based on the overall performances of 132 prisons in England and Wales, appear to undermine claims by ministers that the greater use of private jails is raising standards for the accommodation of more than 83,000 prisoners held across both sectors.
Separate figures, also released under the right-to-know law, show that nearly twice as many prisoner complaints are upheld in private prisons as they are in state-run institutions.
The Government is committed to building five more private prisons to accommodate the growing prison population, which is predicted to rise to 96,000 by 2014. But the poor performance ratings among 40 per cent of private prisons in England and Wales throw into question the cost savings and other benefits of using outside businesses to tackle the prison crisis".
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Justice for Madeleine TV channel
Justice for Madeleine TV channel
Justice For Madeleine internet TV channel to be launched in the near future.
Justice For Madeleine internet TV channel to be launched in the near future.
Hev you got a loight boy?
Hev you got a loight boy?
"And God said, Let there be light:and there was light" (From The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis, The Holy Bible: King James Version. 2000).
Then came the comedy Dad's Army where A.R.P. Warden Hodges shouts 'Put that Light Out'.
And the not funny...
A Jewish couple are suing neighbours over motion sensors that turn on the lights in their communal stairwell, which they claim make it impossible for them to leave their flat during the sabbath.
Should this fruit and nut case be allowed any where near children let alone responsible for teaching them?
I trust that the County Court judge will strike this claim out as being without merit?
"And God said, Let there be light:and there was light" (From The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis, The Holy Bible: King James Version. 2000).
Then came the comedy Dad's Army where A.R.P. Warden Hodges shouts 'Put that Light Out'.
And the not funny...
A Jewish couple are suing neighbours over motion sensors that turn on the lights in their communal stairwell, which they claim make it impossible for them to leave their flat during the sabbath.
Should this fruit and nut case be allowed any where near children let alone responsible for teaching them?
I trust that the County Court judge will strike this claim out as being without merit?
We interupt this news programme to bring you breaking news
We interupt this news programme to bring you breaking news
I was watching the Andrew Marr show this morning. Reviewing the Sunday newspapers was Amanda Platell and Paul Gambaccini. Whilst I agree with the criticisms about how much media coverage is given to the death of Michael Jackson, I was rather taken aback by Amanda Platell's criticism of Newsnight. Her complaint was that she did not think that Newsnight should have interupted its programme to announce that Michael Jackson had been rushed to hospital...
Ed Balls had my eyes closing and my head nodding off back to sleep, until he stated that Alastair Darling will go down in history as a great Chancellor!
Perhaps, Amanda Platell and Ed Balls should do stand up comedy?
I was watching the Andrew Marr show this morning. Reviewing the Sunday newspapers was Amanda Platell and Paul Gambaccini. Whilst I agree with the criticisms about how much media coverage is given to the death of Michael Jackson, I was rather taken aback by Amanda Platell's criticism of Newsnight. Her complaint was that she did not think that Newsnight should have interupted its programme to announce that Michael Jackson had been rushed to hospital...
Ed Balls had my eyes closing and my head nodding off back to sleep, until he stated that Alastair Darling will go down in history as a great Chancellor!
Perhaps, Amanda Platell and Ed Balls should do stand up comedy?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
A simple matter of interpretation
A simple matter of interpretation
Looking on the Guardian website at something else, my attention was drawn to this. "Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, thinks youths who persistently misbehave and intimidate others in their communities should be "harassed themselves"". Note the harassed themselves is in quotations marks, this is an indication that these are the spoken words of Jacqui Smith. However, I listened to the video and did not hear her say this at all. Just to make sure, I listened again. Jacqui Smith may well have been implying this, but she did not actually say those words on the video. When I read them I thought, 'Why is she recommending that upholders of the law break the Protection from Harassment Act?'. Either she said those words and they are not included in the video clip, or the Guardian is putting words into her mouth. Either way, the Guardian is wrong to indicate you will hear these words if you press play.
When I read the European Convention which states that torture is prohibited and that this is an absolute human right which cannot be violated, why am I reading calls for the ban on torture to be less ambiguous?
Looking on the Guardian website at something else, my attention was drawn to this. "Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, thinks youths who persistently misbehave and intimidate others in their communities should be "harassed themselves"". Note the harassed themselves is in quotations marks, this is an indication that these are the spoken words of Jacqui Smith. However, I listened to the video and did not hear her say this at all. Just to make sure, I listened again. Jacqui Smith may well have been implying this, but she did not actually say those words on the video. When I read them I thought, 'Why is she recommending that upholders of the law break the Protection from Harassment Act?'. Either she said those words and they are not included in the video clip, or the Guardian is putting words into her mouth. Either way, the Guardian is wrong to indicate you will hear these words if you press play.
When I read the European Convention which states that torture is prohibited and that this is an absolute human right which cannot be violated, why am I reading calls for the ban on torture to be less ambiguous?
Two in three violent offenders escape prison
Two in three violent offenders escape prison
Only one in three violent criminals are jailed while a similar number are handed a community order, figures show.
The scale of soft penalties for violent criminals will fuel concerns that offenders are not being properly punished for their crimes.
The Government already faces criticism that it is too light on offenders and has been forced in to action to increase penalties for knife offenders in the wake of the growing problem.
But the latest Ministry of Justice statistics show other offenders are getting non-custodial sentences.
The number of young offenders being given immediate custody has also fallen, and young adults down by a quarter.
And the proportion of drug offenders receiving custody also fell, even though the total number sentenced increased.
Only one in three violent criminals are jailed while a similar number are handed a community order, figures show.
The scale of soft penalties for violent criminals will fuel concerns that offenders are not being properly punished for their crimes.
The Government already faces criticism that it is too light on offenders and has been forced in to action to increase penalties for knife offenders in the wake of the growing problem.
But the latest Ministry of Justice statistics show other offenders are getting non-custodial sentences.
The number of young offenders being given immediate custody has also fallen, and young adults down by a quarter.
And the proportion of drug offenders receiving custody also fell, even though the total number sentenced increased.
Homes evacuated after burst main
Homes evacuated after burst main
A number of homes in Hull were evacuated because of a burst water main which caused flooding.
About a dozen residents in Bethnal Green and Beverley Road were forced to leave their properties on Thursday.
Police said Clough Road, Bethnal Green and parts of Cottingham Road and Haywood Street had flooded. Police and the fire service were in attendance.
Clough Road remains closed off and drivers are being urged to avoid the area, police added.
Water pressure was reduced in large parts of the city centre but Yorkshire Water said supplies had now been restored.
More on the story here and here.
A number of homes in Hull were evacuated because of a burst water main which caused flooding.
About a dozen residents in Bethnal Green and Beverley Road were forced to leave their properties on Thursday.
Police said Clough Road, Bethnal Green and parts of Cottingham Road and Haywood Street had flooded. Police and the fire service were in attendance.
Clough Road remains closed off and drivers are being urged to avoid the area, police added.
Water pressure was reduced in large parts of the city centre but Yorkshire Water said supplies had now been restored.
More on the story here and here.
We need healthier justice
We need healthier justice
The number of sick people being recycled around an impoverished prison system is shaming. Reform is needed now
By Juliet Lyon
Weight of evidence, local public resistance and lack of cash may have put paid to the government's grandiose plans to build five gigantic jails, but the obsession with increasing prison capacity remains, and is apparently shared by justice ministers, their Tory shadows and private contractors alike. In the face of swingeing public service cuts and a forthcoming election, prison building continues, relentlessly filling every space and crevice within the existing estate. Accommodation blocks are being thrown up across the country without, in most instances, accompanying provision for constructive activity. Massive development on the Belmarsh site in south-east London will result in three units holding 900 men in both Belmarsh and Belmarsh West, and 624 in the separate HMP Isis.
The number of sick people being recycled around an impoverished prison system is shaming. Reform is needed now
By Juliet Lyon
Weight of evidence, local public resistance and lack of cash may have put paid to the government's grandiose plans to build five gigantic jails, but the obsession with increasing prison capacity remains, and is apparently shared by justice ministers, their Tory shadows and private contractors alike. In the face of swingeing public service cuts and a forthcoming election, prison building continues, relentlessly filling every space and crevice within the existing estate. Accommodation blocks are being thrown up across the country without, in most instances, accompanying provision for constructive activity. Massive development on the Belmarsh site in south-east London will result in three units holding 900 men in both Belmarsh and Belmarsh West, and 624 in the separate HMP Isis.
Knowing the true cost of probation
Knowing the true cost of probation
We must calculate the size of the gap between what is available and what is required in probation services
By David Ramsbotham
I have argued many times that one of the own goals scored by the criminal justice system is that no one knows the cost of imprisonment. That is not to say that no one knows how much money is granted each year by the Treasury to the Ministry of Justice, by the Ministry of Justice to the National Offender Management Service (Noms) and by Noms to individual prisons. But no one knows how much it would cost to do all the things that ministers say that they want to do with and for prisoners to better protect the public by reducing re-offending.
We must calculate the size of the gap between what is available and what is required in probation services
By David Ramsbotham
I have argued many times that one of the own goals scored by the criminal justice system is that no one knows the cost of imprisonment. That is not to say that no one knows how much money is granted each year by the Treasury to the Ministry of Justice, by the Ministry of Justice to the National Offender Management Service (Noms) and by Noms to individual prisons. But no one knows how much it would cost to do all the things that ministers say that they want to do with and for prisoners to better protect the public by reducing re-offending.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Labour's troubles worse than in 1981
Labour's troubles worse than in 1981
Jack Straw is he related to Bubbles?
Mr Straw insisted that the depths of the party's troubles in 1981 were worse than those it was going through now Photo: GETTY
Jack Straw is he related to Bubbles?Mr Straw insisted that the depths of the party's troubles in 1981 were worse than those it was going through now Photo: GETTY
High Court judge rules asylum seeker's detention unlawful
High Court judge rules asylum seeker's detention unlawful
Ahmed Daq must be given bail because the Home Office has taken too long to deport him and his continued detention is now unlawful, the court said.
The decision was made even though Deputy High Court judge John Howell QC accepted clearly a risk of Daq, who had "embarked on a criminal career", committing further offences or absconding.
Ahmed Daq must be given bail because the Home Office has taken too long to deport him and his continued detention is now unlawful, the court said.
The decision was made even though Deputy High Court judge John Howell QC accepted clearly a risk of Daq, who had "embarked on a criminal career", committing further offences or absconding.
Friday caption competition
Friday caption competition
The pot is displayed at The Galleries of Justice museum in Nottingham.
"Visitors to the Galleries of Justice Museum have admired the ceramic plant pot for four years, unaware of its true origins.
A plaque next to the pot, which is in the shape of pig, states that it was made at the notorious women's wing of Durham Prison where Hindley was held, but does not name her as the artist".
The pot is displayed at The Galleries of Justice museum in Nottingham.
"Visitors to the Galleries of Justice Museum have admired the ceramic plant pot for four years, unaware of its true origins.
A plaque next to the pot, which is in the shape of pig, states that it was made at the notorious women's wing of Durham Prison where Hindley was held, but does not name her as the artist".
Spin and the blogger
Spin and the blogger
Tony Blair's reign of power is remembered for it's spin. Jack Straw, Minister of Justice, is continuing with spin. For example, he states that convicted prisoners getting the vote will cause practical difficulties for the Prison Service. However, Phil Wheatley, Director General of the National Offender Management Service, states that the Prison Service is ready to implement measures when the government gives the green light. On the Director General's blog is this little gem: "I hate spin and I think it’s the kiss of death in leadership terms. It’s important that if I say something I really mean it and it is true".
Tony Blair's reign of power is remembered for it's spin. Jack Straw, Minister of Justice, is continuing with spin. For example, he states that convicted prisoners getting the vote will cause practical difficulties for the Prison Service. However, Phil Wheatley, Director General of the National Offender Management Service, states that the Prison Service is ready to implement measures when the government gives the green light. On the Director General's blog is this little gem: "I hate spin and I think it’s the kiss of death in leadership terms. It’s important that if I say something I really mean it and it is true".
McCanns saddened by death of Michael Jackson
McCanns saddened by death of Michael Jackson
It is understood that Gerry and Kate McCann are saddened to hear of the death of Michael Jackson. They say that they will not now be able to eliminate him from their inquiries into the disappearance of Madeleine. Apparently, their private detectives were preparing to fly to Los Angeles in the hope of getting a death bed confession. Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns media spokesman has stated, "We may have just lost one suspect, but the world is full of many more and the search for somebody else to blame will continue until the Madeleine Fund dries up and I am once again unemployed".
Related content Maddie The Truth of the Lies (English translation)
It is understood that Gerry and Kate McCann are saddened to hear of the death of Michael Jackson. They say that they will not now be able to eliminate him from their inquiries into the disappearance of Madeleine. Apparently, their private detectives were preparing to fly to Los Angeles in the hope of getting a death bed confession. Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns media spokesman has stated, "We may have just lost one suspect, but the world is full of many more and the search for somebody else to blame will continue until the Madeleine Fund dries up and I am once again unemployed".
Related content Maddie The Truth of the Lies (English translation)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Why do some ex-offenders desist from re-offending?
Why do some ex-offenders desist from re-offending?
"Criminals who stop offending and permanently ‘desist’ from crime, and become ‘ex-offenders’ is the subject covered by the theory of desistance. Desistance theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding this behavior by taking into account the process of rehabilitation, and in particular the variables within an ‘ex-offender’s life, that provide an environment fit for rehabilitation and not re-offending".
Defining desistance
"Criminals who stop offending and permanently ‘desist’ from crime, and become ‘ex-offenders’ is the subject covered by the theory of desistance. Desistance theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding this behavior by taking into account the process of rehabilitation, and in particular the variables within an ‘ex-offender’s life, that provide an environment fit for rehabilitation and not re-offending".
Defining desistance
RSPCA murders innocent pet cat
RSPCA murders innocent pet cat
Video link
If a dog is not just for Christmas but for life, there is no excuse for killing a cat hours after the RSPCA took it into "care"!
Shame on the RSPCA!
Video link
If a dog is not just for Christmas but for life, there is no excuse for killing a cat hours after the RSPCA took it into "care"!
Shame on the RSPCA!
Waiter there's a man's head in my soup
Waiter there's a man's head in my soup
A Chinese woman boiled a man's head in a soup because she believed it would cure her daughter's psychiatric problems, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.
"Lin Zongxiu, from the southwestern province of Sichuan, heard in 2008 that soup made with a man’s head could help cure her daughter who had suffered from psychiatric problems for years, the Chengdu Commercial newspaper reported.
Lin and her husband decided to enlist the help of a man in December who knocked unconscious a drunk 76-year-old passer-by before beheading him, the paper claimed.
The couple then gave their 25-year-old daughter soup made from the man’s head, and duck".
Related content...
Fancy some Thames soup?
Chinese mitten crabs are infesting Britain's waterways. So shouldn't we be eating them?
A Chinese woman boiled a man's head in a soup because she believed it would cure her daughter's psychiatric problems, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.
"Lin Zongxiu, from the southwestern province of Sichuan, heard in 2008 that soup made with a man’s head could help cure her daughter who had suffered from psychiatric problems for years, the Chengdu Commercial newspaper reported.
Lin and her husband decided to enlist the help of a man in December who knocked unconscious a drunk 76-year-old passer-by before beheading him, the paper claimed.
The couple then gave their 25-year-old daughter soup made from the man’s head, and duck".
Related content...
Fancy some Thames soup?
Chinese mitten crabs are infesting Britain's waterways. So shouldn't we be eating them?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
John Bercow appointed as the new Speaker
John Bercow appointed as the new Speaker
"He eschewed the traditional garb of old-fashioned court dress complete with tights and a wig in favour of..."
...something more suitable for cleaning out a cess pit.
"He eschewed the traditional garb of old-fashioned court dress complete with tights and a wig in favour of..."
...something more suitable for cleaning out a cess pit.
Injuries prompt youth jail review
Injuries prompt youth jail review
Prison chiefs are reviewing how staff restrain inmates at a young offenders' institution (YOI) after an "unprecedented" number of injuries.
Not only are we still jailing too many children, they are also being subjected to physical abuse by some adult members of staff.
Prison chiefs are reviewing how staff restrain inmates at a young offenders' institution (YOI) after an "unprecedented" number of injuries.
Not only are we still jailing too many children, they are also being subjected to physical abuse by some adult members of staff.
Monday, June 22, 2009
New Home Secretary Alan Johnson has got his priorities wrong
New Home Secretary Alan Johnson has got his priorities wrong
The Times is reporting that the new Home Secretary, Labour MP for West Hull, Alan Johnson, is to make tackling anti-social behaviour a top priority.
Personally, I feel that tackling crime should rate as a top priority and tackling anti-social behaviour relegated to a lower priority.
For example, I do not think that the attempt to get an ASBO served on me for walking my dog in the local park and swearing back at those who swear at me, is as important as the 5 Russian/Latvian mafia driving around Hull with automatic weapons...
The Times is reporting that the new Home Secretary, Labour MP for West Hull, Alan Johnson, is to make tackling anti-social behaviour a top priority.
Personally, I feel that tackling crime should rate as a top priority and tackling anti-social behaviour relegated to a lower priority.
For example, I do not think that the attempt to get an ASBO served on me for walking my dog in the local park and swearing back at those who swear at me, is as important as the 5 Russian/Latvian mafia driving around Hull with automatic weapons...
A stroke of luck for Speaker Martin
A stroke of luck for Speaker Martin
According to former Labour MP Harry Barnes, Speaker Martin is not all bad.
According to former Labour MP Harry Barnes, Speaker Martin is not all bad.
Prisoners attack female officers
Prisoners attack female officers
Three female prison officers have been attacked by inmates in Maghaberry prison in County Antrim.
It happened during visiting time on Friday after staff spotted a visitor trying to smuggle a watch to a prisoner.
One of the prison officers suffered broken ribs, another a broken wrist and a third was left with a bruised face.
Finlay Spratt, chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said the attack was despicable.
"Those people should face the full vigour of the law," he said.
Three female prison officers have been attacked by inmates in Maghaberry prison in County Antrim.
It happened during visiting time on Friday after staff spotted a visitor trying to smuggle a watch to a prisoner.
One of the prison officers suffered broken ribs, another a broken wrist and a third was left with a bruised face.
Finlay Spratt, chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said the attack was despicable.
"Those people should face the full vigour of the law," he said.
Tory toff boasts of wealth between £50m and £100m
Tory toff boasts of wealth between £50m and £100m
There is nothing wrong with someone earning and accumulating great wealth. However, why that someone would want to be an MP is beyond me. I fail to see how someone can serve the public whilst at the same time is lining his pockets.
There is nothing wrong with someone earning and accumulating great wealth. However, why that someone would want to be an MP is beyond me. I fail to see how someone can serve the public whilst at the same time is lining his pockets.
Tory judge in limbo
Tory judge in limbo
The Telegraph is reporting "The £129,000-a-year judge and father of two has not been suspended, but he is not currently sitting as a senior circuit judge in Swansea, Cardiff and Carmarthen".
The BBC provides some clarity...
"Is prostitution illegal?
The law is complicated. The act of one consenting adult paying another for sex is NOT actually illegal. So, a woman who works on her own, in her own house and charges people for sex is NOT breaking the law.
But the laws that exist around it make it almost impossible to carry out prostitution legally...It's illegal to advertise for sexual services - though not to advertise massage or escort services like those in the papers and on the internet".
The disciplinary powers of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice are contained in Chapter 3 section 108 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
In my view, the charges against Judge Gerald Price QC are that he let his rent boy sit on the bench in court as he presided over trials, lied to court officials that he was a law student, and abused his position to help Williams beat a charge alleging an offence against public order.
The Telegraph is reporting "The £129,000-a-year judge and father of two has not been suspended, but he is not currently sitting as a senior circuit judge in Swansea, Cardiff and Carmarthen".
The BBC provides some clarity...
"Is prostitution illegal?
The law is complicated. The act of one consenting adult paying another for sex is NOT actually illegal. So, a woman who works on her own, in her own house and charges people for sex is NOT breaking the law.
But the laws that exist around it make it almost impossible to carry out prostitution legally...It's illegal to advertise for sexual services - though not to advertise massage or escort services like those in the papers and on the internet".
The disciplinary powers of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice are contained in Chapter 3 section 108 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
In my view, the charges against Judge Gerald Price QC are that he let his rent boy sit on the bench in court as he presided over trials, lied to court officials that he was a law student, and abused his position to help Williams beat a charge alleging an offence against public order.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Male prostitute outs queer judge
Male prostitute outs queer judge
Doesn't he look like a berk?
Sells his body to a judge and after a lovers tiff sells his story to the Screws of the World!
This kind of case shows why we cannot allow judges conduct hearings to remain private any longer. It must be in the public interest to have openness.
In my view, his dishonour Judge Gerald Price should be disrobed!
Hat-Tip to Charon QC
Doesn't he look like a berk? Sells his body to a judge and after a lovers tiff sells his story to the Screws of the World!This kind of case shows why we cannot allow judges conduct hearings to remain private any longer. It must be in the public interest to have openness.
In my view, his dishonour Judge Gerald Price should be disrobed!
Hat-Tip to Charon QC
McCanns still searching for a patsy to take the rap for their misdeeds
McCanns still searching for a patsy to take the rap for their misdeeds
Madeleine McCann: detectives want to interview murder accused
Private detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann want to speak to a man who is currently on remand in a British jail, it has been revealed.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, refused to comment on the revelations, saying: "A number of individuals remain as persons of interest to the Madeleine investigators.
"However, the investigators will not be naming or identifying any of those persons of interest.
"No competent investigation would be expected to do so whilst the inquiries continue."
The problem is that the McCanns private investigation is not competent to start with. A competent investigation would not rule out the McCanns as being prime suspects or persons of interest in the disappearance of Madeleine.
Madeleine McCann: detectives want to interview murder accused
Private detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann want to speak to a man who is currently on remand in a British jail, it has been revealed.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, refused to comment on the revelations, saying: "A number of individuals remain as persons of interest to the Madeleine investigators.
"However, the investigators will not be naming or identifying any of those persons of interest.
"No competent investigation would be expected to do so whilst the inquiries continue."
The problem is that the McCanns private investigation is not competent to start with. A competent investigation would not rule out the McCanns as being prime suspects or persons of interest in the disappearance of Madeleine.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
A taste of honey for expenses fiddling MPs?
A taste of honey for expenses fiddling MPs?
Honey pots costing £55 each sell out
Pots of honey costing £55 each have sold out in their first month of production.
Honey pots costing £55 each sell out
Pots of honey costing £55 each have sold out in their first month of production.
Get away criminal abides by speed limit
Get away criminal abides by speed limit
Jewel gang caught after getaway driver refuses to break speed limit
A getaway driver who refused to break the speed limit during a police chase led to a gang of jewel robbers being caught and sent to prison for a total of 20 years.
I wonder if he already had 9 points on his licence, or whether they had not taken into account someone jotting down their registration number and thought the police would be looking for a speeding car?
Jewel gang caught after getaway driver refuses to break speed limit
A getaway driver who refused to break the speed limit during a police chase led to a gang of jewel robbers being caught and sent to prison for a total of 20 years.
I wonder if he already had 9 points on his licence, or whether they had not taken into account someone jotting down their registration number and thought the police would be looking for a speeding car?
Kitten attacks postman
Kitten attacks postman
Royal Mail threatens delivery withdrawal after postman 'attacked' by kitten
Royal Mail has warned a family they will not deliver their mail after a postman was "attacked" by their kitten.
The company wrote to shopkeeper Ken Ridge, 65, and his son Bradley, 30, after the postman was targeted by female kitten Illy at their home in Clapham, South London.
Office manager Mayo Sonubi wrote to the pair, saying: "I am writing to let you know that, on June 6, our postman was attacked by your animal in your premises while delivering mail to your address.
I remember the old westerns whereby the pony express had to deliver mail and suffered attacks by Red Indians. Why cannot I take the Royal Mail seriously any more?
Royal Mail threatens delivery withdrawal after postman 'attacked' by kitten
Royal Mail has warned a family they will not deliver their mail after a postman was "attacked" by their kitten.
The company wrote to shopkeeper Ken Ridge, 65, and his son Bradley, 30, after the postman was targeted by female kitten Illy at their home in Clapham, South London.
Office manager Mayo Sonubi wrote to the pair, saying: "I am writing to let you know that, on June 6, our postman was attacked by your animal in your premises while delivering mail to your address.
I remember the old westerns whereby the pony express had to deliver mail and suffered attacks by Red Indians. Why cannot I take the Royal Mail seriously any more?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Council wastes £10,000 on sweetwrapper prosecution
Council wastes £10,000 on sweetwrapper prosecution
Judge condemns teenager's sweet wrapper prosecution
A judge has condemned a "grotesque" waste of taxpayers' money spent on prosecuting teenager Larissa Wilkinson for allowing her 18 month-old niece to drop a sweet wrapper.
Would that ten grand be controlled or uncontrolled waste? I know they wasted £20,000 on the failed prosecution of me and Rocky.
Judge condemns teenager's sweet wrapper prosecution
A judge has condemned a "grotesque" waste of taxpayers' money spent on prosecuting teenager Larissa Wilkinson for allowing her 18 month-old niece to drop a sweet wrapper.
Would that ten grand be controlled or uncontrolled waste? I know they wasted £20,000 on the failed prosecution of me and Rocky.
The Aurora Borealis and the Aurora Australis from space
The Aurora Borealis and the Aurora Australis from space
Aurora Borealis and lights in Finland, Russia, Estonia and Latvia are featured in this digital still picture taken by an Expedition 11 crew aboard the International Space Station on August 31st 2005 Picture: BARCROFT MEDIA
More photos here.
Aurora Borealis and lights in Finland, Russia, Estonia and Latvia are featured in this digital still picture taken by an Expedition 11 crew aboard the International Space Station on August 31st 2005 Picture: BARCROFT MEDIA
More photos here.
Off with their heads: The blame game
Off with their heads: The blame game
It was during a phone conversation with Phil Wheatley, Director General of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), that he mentioned that he was miffed with the accusations and call for his resignation in this article by David Ramsbotham, the former Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP).
David Scott, the former London Probation Chief Officer, wrote in the Guardian: “I finally understood the message I had been given…I resigned”. He jumped before he was pushed.
He states: “I took over at London Probation four years ago following the murder of City financier John Monckton, which exposed serious failings in the way two offenders had been managed by probation officers”. Now someone else will take over after the Sonnex case. Were the lessons not learned after the Monckton case?
David Scott accepts responsibility for the failings of his department, however, he is not happy that only he has been made to walk the plank. He feels that others should also resign or be sacked for their part in this whole affair. Certainly, he has the support and sympathy from David Ramsbotham. However, Phil Wheatley said: “He should have got his facts right before he shot his mouth off”. Hopefully, Matt Seaton will now allow Phil Wheatley the right of reply in the Guardian’s Comment is free section?
Jack Straw, Minister of Justice, in his statement to the House of Commons stated: “In relation to the failings of the probation service, I take full responsibility as secretary of state”. If David Scott had to resign on accepting responsibility, by the same token shouldn’t Jack Straw also resign? And, shouldn’t Phil Wheatley also resign? According to Phil Wheatley: “No”. He gave his reason applying the test could he or should he have reasonably known what would happen? He answered in the negative.
Personally, I believe this would have happened whoever was the London Probation Chief Officer at the time. As Jack Straw pointed out in his statement: “The direct responsibility for these killings must lie – as the jury found – with the criminals Sonnex and Farmer”. I think if it had not been the two French students, Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez, it would have been somebody else at some time somewhere down the line.
These rare but extremely high profile cases have the head hunters crawling out of the woodwork. In the backlash from the Monckton case I was subjected to some increased supervision by my probation officer. I felt that as the case had nothing whatsoever to do with me this was an unfair intrusion. In prison lifers expecting the Parole Board to direct their release would suddenly find themselves having to serve longer because of the media coverage of a particular case, just because the Parole Board went into panic mode. The thirst for sacrifice must be satiated.
It was during a phone conversation with Phil Wheatley, Director General of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), that he mentioned that he was miffed with the accusations and call for his resignation in this article by David Ramsbotham, the former Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP).
David Scott, the former London Probation Chief Officer, wrote in the Guardian: “I finally understood the message I had been given…I resigned”. He jumped before he was pushed.
He states: “I took over at London Probation four years ago following the murder of City financier John Monckton, which exposed serious failings in the way two offenders had been managed by probation officers”. Now someone else will take over after the Sonnex case. Were the lessons not learned after the Monckton case?
David Scott accepts responsibility for the failings of his department, however, he is not happy that only he has been made to walk the plank. He feels that others should also resign or be sacked for their part in this whole affair. Certainly, he has the support and sympathy from David Ramsbotham. However, Phil Wheatley said: “He should have got his facts right before he shot his mouth off”. Hopefully, Matt Seaton will now allow Phil Wheatley the right of reply in the Guardian’s Comment is free section?
Jack Straw, Minister of Justice, in his statement to the House of Commons stated: “In relation to the failings of the probation service, I take full responsibility as secretary of state”. If David Scott had to resign on accepting responsibility, by the same token shouldn’t Jack Straw also resign? And, shouldn’t Phil Wheatley also resign? According to Phil Wheatley: “No”. He gave his reason applying the test could he or should he have reasonably known what would happen? He answered in the negative.
Personally, I believe this would have happened whoever was the London Probation Chief Officer at the time. As Jack Straw pointed out in his statement: “The direct responsibility for these killings must lie – as the jury found – with the criminals Sonnex and Farmer”. I think if it had not been the two French students, Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez, it would have been somebody else at some time somewhere down the line.
These rare but extremely high profile cases have the head hunters crawling out of the woodwork. In the backlash from the Monckton case I was subjected to some increased supervision by my probation officer. I felt that as the case had nothing whatsoever to do with me this was an unfair intrusion. In prison lifers expecting the Parole Board to direct their release would suddenly find themselves having to serve longer because of the media coverage of a particular case, just because the Parole Board went into panic mode. The thirst for sacrifice must be satiated.
Jury out on judge-only trials
Jury out on judge-only trials
The decision to hear a criminal case without jurors sets a legal precedent – but is it the way forward for the UK's justice system?
By Afua Hirsch
They disagree about whether it was the Normans in 1066 or the Magna Carta in 1215, but one thing on which lawyers, judges and historians agree is that the jury trial is an ancient and preciously guarded feature of the English criminal justice system.
Which is not to say it has been perfect. For many years the right to be judged by one's peers meant the right to be judged by property-owning men. The opening up of eligibility now means that all socio-economic groups can enjoy taking part in what is often a frustratingly slow, delay-ridden and frequently flawed process, more than capable of producing perverse results.
Not only a brilliant headline but also a well written and well argued article.
The decision to hear a criminal case without jurors sets a legal precedent – but is it the way forward for the UK's justice system?
By Afua Hirsch
They disagree about whether it was the Normans in 1066 or the Magna Carta in 1215, but one thing on which lawyers, judges and historians agree is that the jury trial is an ancient and preciously guarded feature of the English criminal justice system.
Which is not to say it has been perfect. For many years the right to be judged by one's peers meant the right to be judged by property-owning men. The opening up of eligibility now means that all socio-economic groups can enjoy taking part in what is often a frustratingly slow, delay-ridden and frequently flawed process, more than capable of producing perverse results.
Not only a brilliant headline but also a well written and well argued article.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Family facing prosecution over loud rooster
Family facing prosecution over loud rooster
The owner of Rocky the rooster has been told by council officials to keep him quiet in the early morning or face prosecution.
Fed-up neighbours in the Hampshire village of Marchwood have complained to New Forest District Council that the bird is ruining their slumbers with his cockadoodledos from 4am every day.
Owner Paul Wilton, 51, who also keeps about 45 chickens, has now blacked out the windows of Rocky's home to try and keep him quiet and avoid a fine of up to £5,000.
A cock crowing in the country, whatever next! I suspect that those who are complaining are really townies who have chosen to live in the country and commute to the towns and cities for work. Anyone brought up in the countryside like I was accepts the sounds and smells that go with it.
The owner of Rocky the rooster has been told by council officials to keep him quiet in the early morning or face prosecution.
Fed-up neighbours in the Hampshire village of Marchwood have complained to New Forest District Council that the bird is ruining their slumbers with his cockadoodledos from 4am every day.
Owner Paul Wilton, 51, who also keeps about 45 chickens, has now blacked out the windows of Rocky's home to try and keep him quiet and avoid a fine of up to £5,000.
A cock crowing in the country, whatever next! I suspect that those who are complaining are really townies who have chosen to live in the country and commute to the towns and cities for work. Anyone brought up in the countryside like I was accepts the sounds and smells that go with it.
Criminal trial to be heard without jury for the first time
Criminal trial to be heard without jury for the first time
The Court of Appeal has given a historic ruling allowing the first ever criminal trial to be heard without a jury.
Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, said the case concerned "very serious criminal activity" arising out of a robbery at a warehouse at Heathrow Airport in 2004.
Three judges in London, headed by Lord Judge, gave the go-ahead because of a "very significant" danger of jury tampering.
This is a worrying development. Why don't we do away with MPs because there is a very significant risk they will fiddle their expenses?
The Court of Appeal has given a historic ruling allowing the first ever criminal trial to be heard without a jury.
Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, said the case concerned "very serious criminal activity" arising out of a robbery at a warehouse at Heathrow Airport in 2004.
Three judges in London, headed by Lord Judge, gave the go-ahead because of a "very significant" danger of jury tampering.
This is a worrying development. Why don't we do away with MPs because there is a very significant risk they will fiddle their expenses?
Mark Leech caught bang to right passing himself off as a solicitor
Mark Leech caught bang to right passing himself off as a solicitor
Solicitors England.co.uk
solicitors manchester, solicitors online in England and UK
"Welcome to Solicitors-England.co.uk, the place to find law firms that can help with your legal issue. Solicitors, lawyers, legal advice, solicitors manchester. Solicitors in England and the UK provide you with links to solicitors, lawyers, legal advice, solicitors manchester, throughout all the English regions, towns and cities. Personal injury lawyers, can advise you should you have suffered an injury in the past three years for road accidents, work related accidents, medical negligence, or a simple tip or slip injury. Some lawyers offer no win no fee claim and no upfront fees to pay. You may be surprised at the number of circumstances where a compensation claim can be made. If the accident was not your fault you may be able to claim. Of course, you’re also likely to be looking for a solicitor who has special experience and expertise, solicitors manchester dealing with problems or issues such as the one you’re facing".
"To find Solicitors in England UK - please scroll down the page :"
"Mark Leech Associates Ltd
1st Floor Clayton House Piccadilly
Manchester
Gt. Manchester, England, United Kingdom, M1 2AS
Type of Premise: Office
Business Type: Lawyers Solicitors and Legal Advisors".
I wonder what the Solicitors Regulatory Authority will make of this revelation? Especially, given that Mark Leech claims that his non-existent Institute of Prison Law is accredited and approved by the SRA?
"Every solicitor in England & Wales is required each year to
undergo 16 hours of Continuous Professional Development
(CPD) – ongoing training by another name. The law is a constantly
changing field and lawyers need to keep abreast of the latest
developments if the advice they give to clients is to be accurate.
Nowhere does it change more frequently than in the field of prisoners’
rights, where a constant stream of Prison Service Orders and
Instructions, and judgements from the
courts, change the penal landscape
regularly.
In 1999, two lawyers with Liverpool-based solicitors AS Law
decided to establish a professional training body in order to provide
Law Society accredited prison law training to solicitors, barristers and
Prison Service staff who deal directly with prisoners. The Institute of
Prison Law (IPL) was born. Recently re-accredited by the Law
Society, IPL is planning a full calendar of seminars for the rest of
2002, the latest of which have been held inside prisons! Taking four
subjects per day-long seminar, recent topics have included Security
Categorisation & Allocation; the Life Sentence System; Parole;
Prison Health Care; Young Offenders; Visits; Letters & Telephone Calls.
The next IPL Seminar is on 15th May 2002, at HMP
Wormwood Scrubs in West London. The topics will include
Disciplinary System; Security Categorisation and Allocation; the Life
Sentence System; and Practical Prison Law Problem Solving.
There are other seminars in Birmingham and Durham in
June 2002 and we are at the Prison Service College Newbold Revel,
near Rugby, in September, HMP Norwich in October, Manchester in
November and Bristol in December. Bookings can be made over the
telephone by credit card or order forms can be faxed and invoiced".
"CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY IN PRISON LAW
For the last four years the Institute of Prison Law has operated its acclaimed Ceritificate of Competency in Prison Law course, success on which leads to the award of the Institute's 'OK Logo'".
So, in 1999 2 lawyers established the Institute of Prison Law. Now it is ten years later, 2009, how many lawyers are still with the Institute of Prison Law?
None. There is only the unqualified Mark Leech. It begs the question, how can the SRA authorise and accredit a fraudster to teach qualified lawyers on the subject of prison law?
Solicitors England.co.uk
solicitors manchester, solicitors online in England and UK
"Welcome to Solicitors-England.co.uk, the place to find law firms that can help with your legal issue. Solicitors, lawyers, legal advice, solicitors manchester. Solicitors in England and the UK provide you with links to solicitors, lawyers, legal advice, solicitors manchester, throughout all the English regions, towns and cities. Personal injury lawyers, can advise you should you have suffered an injury in the past three years for road accidents, work related accidents, medical negligence, or a simple tip or slip injury. Some lawyers offer no win no fee claim and no upfront fees to pay. You may be surprised at the number of circumstances where a compensation claim can be made. If the accident was not your fault you may be able to claim. Of course, you’re also likely to be looking for a solicitor who has special experience and expertise, solicitors manchester dealing with problems or issues such as the one you’re facing".
"To find Solicitors in England UK - please scroll down the page :"
"Mark Leech Associates Ltd
1st Floor Clayton House Piccadilly
Manchester
Gt. Manchester, England, United Kingdom, M1 2AS
Type of Premise: Office
Business Type: Lawyers Solicitors and Legal Advisors".
I wonder what the Solicitors Regulatory Authority will make of this revelation? Especially, given that Mark Leech claims that his non-existent Institute of Prison Law is accredited and approved by the SRA?
"Every solicitor in England & Wales is required each year to
undergo 16 hours of Continuous Professional Development
(CPD) – ongoing training by another name. The law is a constantly
changing field and lawyers need to keep abreast of the latest
developments if the advice they give to clients is to be accurate.
Nowhere does it change more frequently than in the field of prisoners’
rights, where a constant stream of Prison Service Orders and
Instructions, and judgements from the
courts, change the penal landscape
regularly.
In 1999, two lawyers with Liverpool-based solicitors AS Law
decided to establish a professional training body in order to provide
Law Society accredited prison law training to solicitors, barristers and
Prison Service staff who deal directly with prisoners. The Institute of
Prison Law (IPL) was born. Recently re-accredited by the Law
Society, IPL is planning a full calendar of seminars for the rest of
2002, the latest of which have been held inside prisons! Taking four
subjects per day-long seminar, recent topics have included Security
Categorisation & Allocation; the Life Sentence System; Parole;
Prison Health Care; Young Offenders; Visits; Letters & Telephone Calls.
The next IPL Seminar is on 15th May 2002, at HMP
Wormwood Scrubs in West London. The topics will include
Disciplinary System; Security Categorisation and Allocation; the Life
Sentence System; and Practical Prison Law Problem Solving.
There are other seminars in Birmingham and Durham in
June 2002 and we are at the Prison Service College Newbold Revel,
near Rugby, in September, HMP Norwich in October, Manchester in
November and Bristol in December. Bookings can be made over the
telephone by credit card or order forms can be faxed and invoiced".
"CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY IN PRISON LAW
For the last four years the Institute of Prison Law has operated its acclaimed Ceritificate of Competency in Prison Law course, success on which leads to the award of the Institute's 'OK Logo'".
So, in 1999 2 lawyers established the Institute of Prison Law. Now it is ten years later, 2009, how many lawyers are still with the Institute of Prison Law?
None. There is only the unqualified Mark Leech. It begs the question, how can the SRA authorise and accredit a fraudster to teach qualified lawyers on the subject of prison law?
When convicts know the law inside out
When convicts know the law inside out
A lifer is running the only legal advice centre in a UK jail - from his own cell.
Jonathan Green
Wednesday, 8 May 1996
Behind the rolls of razor wire and insurmountable red brick walls of HM Prison Stocken, set in the heart of rural Leicestershire, is a cell in B wing crammed with legal documents. Bookshelves lining the walls groan under the weight of law volumes. Pinned to the cell door is a sign that reads "Prison Law Advice Centre" - this is the only legal centre within the UK prison system. It is also John Hirst's prison cell, where he serves a discretionary life sentence for manslaughter.
Hirst and his centre, which is not recognised by the Prison Service, have inspired such notoriety that he advises other prisoners who write in from all over the prison system. Not only that but, he claims, he also answers queries on penal law from solicitors and barristers too. In just five years he has turned himself from a "violent and disruptive" prisoner into a self-styled barrack- room lawyer. His legal record so far extends to 40 cases fought both within the Prison Service's internal judicial system and right up to the High Court.
"Before I would try and get my way with violence," he says. "But the guards are equipped to handle it and that is what they expect and understand. What scares them more than anything else, is the law - that they don't understand at all."
Hirst, a persistent offender from the age of 20, resulting in ever longer prison sentences, once had status as a "category A" prisoner because he was deemed such a risk to the public if he escaped. Now, though, this diminutive man with a raging intensity is more of a thorn in the side of the authorities than ever before. The transformation from "law breaker to law maker" began when he recovered pounds 300 in the county court for some vinyl records lost during a prison move.
And he recounts his most hard fought, successful legal victory with relish. It began when he was charged with an offence which "in any way offends against good order and discipline" while in Hull prison. His crime was to power a CD player by using two wires connected to a light fixture in his cell. The adjudication found against him and he was punished with a loss of privileges. Furthermore, he was also incarcerated in the punishment block for seven days. A subsequent complaint he lodged to a Prison Service area manager proved futile.
Undaunted and determined to see justice enacted, Hirst applied for judicial review in the High Court over his segregation and original charge. Then he lodged a second application when he was moved to Durham prison shortly afterwards, and again placed in the punishment block. The applications were successful and to pour salt on the wounds of the prison governors, he later won pounds 3000 compensation in a private action against the then governor of Durham prison.
John Hirst has now progressed to tackling all injustices brought to his attention within prison walls. His only fee is "a bit of money or maybe a bit of weed". But the rewards are far greater, he says. "I do it for justice. I am looked on as a right pain in the arse and that is the greatest compliment I could ever have."
Yet Hirst, 46, represents a growing number of jail-house lawyers who are finding law a better tool for asserting their rights in traditional prison violence. Rod Morgan, professor of criminal justice at Bristol University explains: "Recently there has been an explosion of prisoners' litigation and particularly prisoners pursuing civil claims. There is a growing awareness of prisoners' rights and they are more able to weigh up the options and pursue their own grievances."
No statistics are available on the phenomenon. However, Vicky King of the Prisoners' Advice Centre, a legal service for inmates, is astounded by how her caseload has rocketed since she set up the service in 1991. "We're getting busier and busier and have 700-800 cases on file," she explains. "There have always been prisoners who study criminal law and follow their cases and appeals and so on. But it is people like John Hirst and other lifers who pursue civil law actions that are becoming more common.
"Now we get calls from guys who have been inside for 16 years and say, 'I've never done this before but I really want to take a case up against the Prison Service. And many we speak to are aware of the power of judicial review and other legal terms," she says.
Many credit ex-prisoner Mark Leech, award-winning playwright and author of the Prisoners' Handbook, as a legally pioneering inmate. During a life in prison for a range of crimes including arson, he has taken out 42 actions ranging from county court level right up to the Court of Appeal. He once won pounds 110 damages for a prison officer's failure to answer his cell bell. And opened the way for more than pounds 1m for claims against the Home Office after challenging deductions from prisoners wages as unlawful.
"Prisoners are finding there is a better way forward on the floor of a court than protesting on a rooftop during a riot," he says. "Prisoners also know that they cannot be physically punished or beaten up for taking legal action and not fighting." Leech accounts for the rise in civil litigation, as do penal reform experts, by courts and judges becoming more willing to listen to prisoners cases. Tim Owen, a barrister who has spent the past 10 years involved in prisoners' rights and the law, says: "The attitude of the courts has changed and they see prisoners as citizens behind bars and that their civil rights should survive behind bars as well. Consequently, they are willing to set standards of procedure on things like transfer and segregation"
However, Leech's and Hirst's expertise is fashioned out of a difficult part of the law. Prison legislation is enshrined in the Prison Act 1952 and the secondary legislation in the Prison Rules 1964. Legal theory appears simple, but in day to day practice it is complex to interpret, says Vicky King. "It is a very murky area. It is only in the past few years that proper text books have started to appear on the topic. Before, very little was known." Prison law - Text and Materials, widely held to be the most authoritative text book on the subject, only appeared in 1993.
When he began his first action, Hirst called on six solicitors to help. They were so mystified by penal law only one agreed to assist with the case.
Prisoners like John Hirst are mainly self taught, particularly in penal law. The alternative is to turn to a correspondence course. Currently, there is an external law degree course by London University, tutored by Wolsey Hall in Oxford. And some prisons will run law courses when demand from prisoners is sufficient.
Yet the benefits of penal law study and then employing what has been learnt can be psychological too, says John Staples, editor of the Prison Service Journal and governor of HM Prison Full Sutton. "It has always been a way of adapting to the deprivations that prison brings. There are always a number in every prison who do things in a very legalistic way with complaints and requests."
However, Hirst is swift to rebut these claims in his eagerness to show how much his new found calling means. He says: "I would forgo my right to leave here if I had to stop studying and practising law." Future aims are to set up a legal advice centre on his release and to carry on with his work for prisoners' rights. His release, though, will be decided by a Discretionary Lifer Panel. "They may very well say that I have aggravated everything by always suing them. But I will still carry on if it means my release is postponed. It's about principles."
A lifer is running the only legal advice centre in a UK jail - from his own cell.
Jonathan Green
Wednesday, 8 May 1996
Behind the rolls of razor wire and insurmountable red brick walls of HM Prison Stocken, set in the heart of rural Leicestershire, is a cell in B wing crammed with legal documents. Bookshelves lining the walls groan under the weight of law volumes. Pinned to the cell door is a sign that reads "Prison Law Advice Centre" - this is the only legal centre within the UK prison system. It is also John Hirst's prison cell, where he serves a discretionary life sentence for manslaughter.
Hirst and his centre, which is not recognised by the Prison Service, have inspired such notoriety that he advises other prisoners who write in from all over the prison system. Not only that but, he claims, he also answers queries on penal law from solicitors and barristers too. In just five years he has turned himself from a "violent and disruptive" prisoner into a self-styled barrack- room lawyer. His legal record so far extends to 40 cases fought both within the Prison Service's internal judicial system and right up to the High Court.
"Before I would try and get my way with violence," he says. "But the guards are equipped to handle it and that is what they expect and understand. What scares them more than anything else, is the law - that they don't understand at all."
Hirst, a persistent offender from the age of 20, resulting in ever longer prison sentences, once had status as a "category A" prisoner because he was deemed such a risk to the public if he escaped. Now, though, this diminutive man with a raging intensity is more of a thorn in the side of the authorities than ever before. The transformation from "law breaker to law maker" began when he recovered pounds 300 in the county court for some vinyl records lost during a prison move.
And he recounts his most hard fought, successful legal victory with relish. It began when he was charged with an offence which "in any way offends against good order and discipline" while in Hull prison. His crime was to power a CD player by using two wires connected to a light fixture in his cell. The adjudication found against him and he was punished with a loss of privileges. Furthermore, he was also incarcerated in the punishment block for seven days. A subsequent complaint he lodged to a Prison Service area manager proved futile.
Undaunted and determined to see justice enacted, Hirst applied for judicial review in the High Court over his segregation and original charge. Then he lodged a second application when he was moved to Durham prison shortly afterwards, and again placed in the punishment block. The applications were successful and to pour salt on the wounds of the prison governors, he later won pounds 3000 compensation in a private action against the then governor of Durham prison.
John Hirst has now progressed to tackling all injustices brought to his attention within prison walls. His only fee is "a bit of money or maybe a bit of weed". But the rewards are far greater, he says. "I do it for justice. I am looked on as a right pain in the arse and that is the greatest compliment I could ever have."
Yet Hirst, 46, represents a growing number of jail-house lawyers who are finding law a better tool for asserting their rights in traditional prison violence. Rod Morgan, professor of criminal justice at Bristol University explains: "Recently there has been an explosion of prisoners' litigation and particularly prisoners pursuing civil claims. There is a growing awareness of prisoners' rights and they are more able to weigh up the options and pursue their own grievances."
No statistics are available on the phenomenon. However, Vicky King of the Prisoners' Advice Centre, a legal service for inmates, is astounded by how her caseload has rocketed since she set up the service in 1991. "We're getting busier and busier and have 700-800 cases on file," she explains. "There have always been prisoners who study criminal law and follow their cases and appeals and so on. But it is people like John Hirst and other lifers who pursue civil law actions that are becoming more common.
"Now we get calls from guys who have been inside for 16 years and say, 'I've never done this before but I really want to take a case up against the Prison Service. And many we speak to are aware of the power of judicial review and other legal terms," she says.
Many credit ex-prisoner Mark Leech, award-winning playwright and author of the Prisoners' Handbook, as a legally pioneering inmate. During a life in prison for a range of crimes including arson, he has taken out 42 actions ranging from county court level right up to the Court of Appeal. He once won pounds 110 damages for a prison officer's failure to answer his cell bell. And opened the way for more than pounds 1m for claims against the Home Office after challenging deductions from prisoners wages as unlawful.
"Prisoners are finding there is a better way forward on the floor of a court than protesting on a rooftop during a riot," he says. "Prisoners also know that they cannot be physically punished or beaten up for taking legal action and not fighting." Leech accounts for the rise in civil litigation, as do penal reform experts, by courts and judges becoming more willing to listen to prisoners cases. Tim Owen, a barrister who has spent the past 10 years involved in prisoners' rights and the law, says: "The attitude of the courts has changed and they see prisoners as citizens behind bars and that their civil rights should survive behind bars as well. Consequently, they are willing to set standards of procedure on things like transfer and segregation"
However, Leech's and Hirst's expertise is fashioned out of a difficult part of the law. Prison legislation is enshrined in the Prison Act 1952 and the secondary legislation in the Prison Rules 1964. Legal theory appears simple, but in day to day practice it is complex to interpret, says Vicky King. "It is a very murky area. It is only in the past few years that proper text books have started to appear on the topic. Before, very little was known." Prison law - Text and Materials, widely held to be the most authoritative text book on the subject, only appeared in 1993.
When he began his first action, Hirst called on six solicitors to help. They were so mystified by penal law only one agreed to assist with the case.
Prisoners like John Hirst are mainly self taught, particularly in penal law. The alternative is to turn to a correspondence course. Currently, there is an external law degree course by London University, tutored by Wolsey Hall in Oxford. And some prisons will run law courses when demand from prisoners is sufficient.
Yet the benefits of penal law study and then employing what has been learnt can be psychological too, says John Staples, editor of the Prison Service Journal and governor of HM Prison Full Sutton. "It has always been a way of adapting to the deprivations that prison brings. There are always a number in every prison who do things in a very legalistic way with complaints and requests."
However, Hirst is swift to rebut these claims in his eagerness to show how much his new found calling means. He says: "I would forgo my right to leave here if I had to stop studying and practising law." Future aims are to set up a legal advice centre on his release and to carry on with his work for prisoners' rights. His release, though, will be decided by a Discretionary Lifer Panel. "They may very well say that I have aggravated everything by always suing them. But I will still carry on if it means my release is postponed. It's about principles."
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
See you in court Mark Leech
See you in court Mark Leech
Just before 9 this morning, I received a phone call from Detective Constable Gooder. He said it was in relation to the complaint made by Mark Leech, and that he needed to see me to finalise things.
As I have already blogged the letter I received which stated that the Crown Prosecution Service had decided no further action will be taken, in my view the matter had already been finalised.
When the DC came to see me, it transpired that the visit from The Plod was not in relation to the police informant Mark Leech's previous complaint. Rather, this was a separate and new complaint in relation to so-called harassment. I was issued with an official warning and asked to sign a piece of paper stating that I would not contact Mark Leech. The police told me that this includes writing about him on my blog. I asked for specifics and was simply told "harassment". I refused to sign.
Mark Leech has published that I am a nonce, drug addict, and alchoholic, in his prison newspaper ConVerse, and none of the allegations are true.
There is something frightening about the police attempting to silence me on my blog because the content is deemed objectionable by an ex-prisoner with an axe to grind. The law is not there for the private purpose of the likes of Mark Leech, and nor are the police his private police force.
I have been in contact with my solicitor, who is contacting the police for more information on this matter. In any event, I think the only place to sort out what the police called this spat is in a court of law.
Just before 9 this morning, I received a phone call from Detective Constable Gooder. He said it was in relation to the complaint made by Mark Leech, and that he needed to see me to finalise things.
As I have already blogged the letter I received which stated that the Crown Prosecution Service had decided no further action will be taken, in my view the matter had already been finalised.
When the DC came to see me, it transpired that the visit from The Plod was not in relation to the police informant Mark Leech's previous complaint. Rather, this was a separate and new complaint in relation to so-called harassment. I was issued with an official warning and asked to sign a piece of paper stating that I would not contact Mark Leech. The police told me that this includes writing about him on my blog. I asked for specifics and was simply told "harassment". I refused to sign.
Mark Leech has published that I am a nonce, drug addict, and alchoholic, in his prison newspaper ConVerse, and none of the allegations are true.
There is something frightening about the police attempting to silence me on my blog because the content is deemed objectionable by an ex-prisoner with an axe to grind. The law is not there for the private purpose of the likes of Mark Leech, and nor are the police his private police force.
I have been in contact with my solicitor, who is contacting the police for more information on this matter. In any event, I think the only place to sort out what the police called this spat is in a court of law.
Britain urged to allow prisoners to vote
Britain urged to allow prisoners to vote
European committee warns of 'pressing need' for ban to be lifted before next election
By Duncan Campbell
The UK has come under renewed pressure to grant prisoners the vote in time for the next election or fall foul of European human rights legislation.
The committee of ministers of the Council of Europe today condemned the UK's delay in granting votes to prisoners and warned that there was now a "pressing need" for action to be taken.
Prison reform groups called on the government today to act swiftly so that prisoners would be able to vote in a general election predicted for next spring. The action follows a seven-year legal battle by a former prisoner to force the government to grant the vote to inmates.
The committee of ministers of the Council of Europe expressed concern at the "significant delay" in implementing the vote for prisoners in the wake of a European court of human rights judgment of 2005. The committee said that it "recognised the pressing need to take concrete steps to implement the judgment, particularly in light of upcoming UK elections which must take place by June 2010 at the latest".
Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust welcomed the move and said that it was logical for the right to vote to be included in Gordon Brown's proposed constitutional reform. "It seems that the committee of ministers has had enough of the UK's foot dragging, prevarication and mean-minded refusal to comply with the European court of human rights judgment that the blanket ban on prisoners' voting is unlawful," said Lyon.
"As the government scrambles to put right constitutional wrongs, this is the time when the justice secretary can dispose of an antiquated punishment of civic death and make sure that people held in a modern prison system can exercise their civic responsibilities."
The committee of ministers also stressed the need to take procedural steps "without delay". It is the strongest condemnation so far of the UK government which has declined to bring in the necessary changes to allow the vote to most prisoners.
John Hirst, the former prisoner who brought the original action in 2001 under human rights legislation, said that it should be possible for prisoners to vote in an election next year. "I am very happy," he said. "There is no reason now why prisoners should not be able to vote next year."
The UK government has so far resisted pressure to extend the franchise. Last year, the UN human rights committee expressed concern saying the British stance "may not meet the requirements" of the UN's human rights covenant.
The British ban dates back to the Forfeiture Act of 1870. Britain is one of only nine European countries, including Russia, Bulgaria and Romania, where all convicted prisoners are banned from voting, although in some countries, such as France and Spain, judges can impose the loss of voting rights as an additional punishment.
European committee warns of 'pressing need' for ban to be lifted before next election
By Duncan Campbell
The UK has come under renewed pressure to grant prisoners the vote in time for the next election or fall foul of European human rights legislation.
The committee of ministers of the Council of Europe today condemned the UK's delay in granting votes to prisoners and warned that there was now a "pressing need" for action to be taken.
Prison reform groups called on the government today to act swiftly so that prisoners would be able to vote in a general election predicted for next spring. The action follows a seven-year legal battle by a former prisoner to force the government to grant the vote to inmates.
The committee of ministers of the Council of Europe expressed concern at the "significant delay" in implementing the vote for prisoners in the wake of a European court of human rights judgment of 2005. The committee said that it "recognised the pressing need to take concrete steps to implement the judgment, particularly in light of upcoming UK elections which must take place by June 2010 at the latest".
Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust welcomed the move and said that it was logical for the right to vote to be included in Gordon Brown's proposed constitutional reform. "It seems that the committee of ministers has had enough of the UK's foot dragging, prevarication and mean-minded refusal to comply with the European court of human rights judgment that the blanket ban on prisoners' voting is unlawful," said Lyon.
"As the government scrambles to put right constitutional wrongs, this is the time when the justice secretary can dispose of an antiquated punishment of civic death and make sure that people held in a modern prison system can exercise their civic responsibilities."
The committee of ministers also stressed the need to take procedural steps "without delay". It is the strongest condemnation so far of the UK government which has declined to bring in the necessary changes to allow the vote to most prisoners.
John Hirst, the former prisoner who brought the original action in 2001 under human rights legislation, said that it should be possible for prisoners to vote in an election next year. "I am very happy," he said. "There is no reason now why prisoners should not be able to vote next year."
The UK government has so far resisted pressure to extend the franchise. Last year, the UN human rights committee expressed concern saying the British stance "may not meet the requirements" of the UN's human rights covenant.
The British ban dates back to the Forfeiture Act of 1870. Britain is one of only nine European countries, including Russia, Bulgaria and Romania, where all convicted prisoners are banned from voting, although in some countries, such as France and Spain, judges can impose the loss of voting rights as an additional punishment.
Chief Constable who claimed he was above the law should resign or be sacked
Chief Constable who claimed he was above the law should resign or be sacked
A chief constable was criticised by three judges today for defying a high court order to return computer hard drives containing evidence of suspected child abuse to an expert witness.
Colin Port, the chief constable of Avon and Somerset police, escaped a prison term for contempt of court because he returned the files from 87 computer hard drives to the expert yesterday evening, hours before the officer appeared at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
According to this Guardian report "The case pitted the chief constable against Jim Bates". I beg to differ. Port challenged the law and the law won. He backed down at the last minute. Nevertheless, nobody is above the law. Not even someone who is a Chief Constable. He must be removed from power. And the sooner the better.
A chief constable was criticised by three judges today for defying a high court order to return computer hard drives containing evidence of suspected child abuse to an expert witness.
Colin Port, the chief constable of Avon and Somerset police, escaped a prison term for contempt of court because he returned the files from 87 computer hard drives to the expert yesterday evening, hours before the officer appeared at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
According to this Guardian report "The case pitted the chief constable against Jim Bates". I beg to differ. Port challenged the law and the law won. He backed down at the last minute. Nevertheless, nobody is above the law. Not even someone who is a Chief Constable. He must be removed from power. And the sooner the better.
A millionaire Conservative MP stole almost £60k from the public purse
A millionaire Conservative MP stole almost £60k from the public purse
MPs' expenses: Tory claims £57,000 to rent flat from own company
A millionaire Conservative MP broke parliamentary rules by claiming more than £50,000 in taxpayer-funded expenses to rent a flat from his own company.
Why did Speaker Martin allow this abuse to go on for 3 years when he knew it was against the rules?
MPs' expenses: Tory claims £57,000 to rent flat from own company
A millionaire Conservative MP broke parliamentary rules by claiming more than £50,000 in taxpayer-funded expenses to rent a flat from his own company.
Why did Speaker Martin allow this abuse to go on for 3 years when he knew it was against the rules?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
NightJack: My Everyman posts seemed to strike a chord
NightJack: My Everyman posts seemed to strike a chord
My name is Richard Horton and for the last 17 years, I have worked for Lancashire Constabulary. For the last 12 years or so I have been a detective. There is really no other job that I have ever wanted to do. However, for the last 18 months, I have led a double life as the author of a well known anonymous police blog called NightJack.
My name is Richard Horton and for the last 17 years, I have worked for Lancashire Constabulary. For the last 12 years or so I have been a detective. There is really no other job that I have ever wanted to do. However, for the last 18 months, I have led a double life as the author of a well known anonymous police blog called NightJack.
THE AUTHOR OF A BLOG v TIMES NEWSPAPERS LIMITED
THE AUTHOR OF A BLOG v TIMES NEWSPAPERS LIMITED
Neutral Citation Number: [2009] EWHC 1358 (QB)
Case No: HQ09X02293
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
16 June 2009
B e f o r e :
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE EADY
____________________
Between:
THE AUTHOR OF A BLOG
Claimant
- and -
TIMES NEWSPAPERS LIMITED
Defendant
____________________
Hugh Tomlinson QC (instructed by Olswang) for the Claimant
Antony White QC and Jonathan Barnes (instructed by Times Newspapers Ltd) for the Defendant
Hearing date: 4 June 2009
____________________
HTML VERSION OF JUDGMENT
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
Mr Justice Eady :
1. On 4 June 2009 I heard an application in private whereby the Claimant, who is the author of a blog known as "Night Jack", sought an interim injunction to restrain Times Newspapers Ltd from publishing any information that would or might lead to his identification as the person responsible for that blog. An undertaking had been given on 28 May 2009 that such information would not be published pending the outcome. I indicated at the conclusion that I would refuse the injunction but, in the meantime, I granted temporary cover to restrain publication until the handing down of the judgment, when the matter could be considered afresh if need be.
2. The Claimant's case, advanced on his behalf by Mr Tomlinson QC, is based both on the traditional law of confidence and upon the more recently developed doctrine acknowledging an independent cause of action arising from the improper disclosure of private information: see e.g. Campbell v MGN Ltd [2004] 2 AC 457 and McKennitt v Ash [2008] QB 73. It is suggested that The Times is subject to an enforceable duty of confidence not to reveal the Claimant's identity as the author of the blog; alternatively, that he has a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of that information, in respect of which there is no countervailing public interest justification for its publication.
3. It was asserted in the Claimant's skeleton for the hearing of 28 May that his identity had been disclosed to The Times in breach of confidence. By the time the matter came before me, on the other hand, Mr Tomlinson was prepared to proceed on the basis that the evidence relied upon from Mr Patrick Foster, the relevant journalist, was correct; that is to say, that he had been able to arrive at the identification by a process of deduction and detective work, mainly using information available on the Internet.
4. Mr Tomlinson submitted that the thousands of regular bloggers who communicate nowadays via the Internet, under a cloak of anonymity, would be horrified to think that the law would do nothing to protect their anonymity if someone carried out the necessary detective work and sought to unmask them. That may be true. I suspect that some would be very concerned and others less so. Be that as it may, Mr Tomlinson needs to demonstrate that there would be a legally enforceable right to maintain anonymity, in the absence of a genuine breach of confidence, by suppressing the fruits of detective work such as that carried out by Mr Foster.
5. Mr Tomlinson's primary argument was simply that the Claimant wished to remain anonymous and has taken steps to preserve his anonymity accordingly. He says that the Defendant is fully aware of the Claimant's wish and that, in the circumstances, there is no justification for "unmasking" him, as he is entitled to keep his identity as the author of the blog private and confidential. Indeed, it is submitted as a general proposition that "there is a public interest in preserving the anonymity of bloggers".
6. It is necessary to examine the matter more closely, however, since the mere fact that the Claimant wishes to remain anonymous does not mean either that he has a reasonable expectation of doing so or that The Times is under an enforceable obligation to him in that respect.
7. It is well known that the court nowadays adopts a two stage approach, when addressing claims based upon the publication of allegedly private information in contravention of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. One must ask, first, whether the claimant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to the particular information in question and, if so, then move to the second stage of enquiring whether there is some countervailing public interest such as to justify overriding that prima facie right. Whereas Mr Tomlinson focused most of his attention upon the second stage, and rather took it for granted that the stage one test had been passed, Mr White QC made it clear on behalf of The Times that it was most certainly not accepted that this Claimant had a reasonable expectation of maintaining his anonymity.
8. The test is an objective one (both for privacy and breach of confidence) and the importance of that has recently been underlined by the Court of Appeal in Napier v Pressdram Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 443 at [42], where Toulson LJ commented:
" … For a duty of confidentiality to be owed (other than under a contract or statute), the information in question must be of a nature and obtained in circumstances such that any reasonable person in the position of the recipient ought to recognise that it should be treated as confidential. As Cross J observed in Printers and Finishers Limited v Holloway [1965] RPC 239, 256, the law would defeat its own object if it seeks to enforce in this field standards which would be rejected by the ordinary person. Freedom to report the truth is a precious thing both for the liberty of the individual (the libertarian principle) and for the sake of wider society (the democratic principle), and it would be unduly eroded if the law of confidentiality were to prevent a person from reporting facts which a reasonable person in his position would not perceive to be confidential."
9. Hitherto, in those cases which have come before the courts where the claimant relied successfully upon the recently developed cause of action, in the absence of any pre-existing relationship of confidence, the information in question has been of a strictly personal nature concerning, for example, sexual relationships, mental or physical health, financial affairs, or the claimant's family or domestic arrangements. I am not aware of a case in which, as here, there is a significant public element in the information sought to be restricted. I have in mind, of course, that what the Claimant seeks to withhold from scrutiny is the identity of the person communicating to the public through his blog. Those who wish to hold forth to the public by this means often take steps to disguise their authorship, but it is in my judgment a significantly further step to argue, if others are able to deduce their identity, that they should be restrained by law from revealing it.
10. Mr White drew my attention to the case of Mahmood v Galloway [2006] EMLR 26. Mr Tomlinson challenged him to identify any useful ratio decidendi from this case, to which Mr White responded by advancing the proposition that a journalist who writes under a pseudonym for the purpose of functioning more effectively in his undercover work has no reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of his identity and, in particular, in relation to photographs which would, when published widely, reveal his identity. It seems to me that Mr White's interpretation is correct and, although the decision is not strictly binding upon me, the reasoning of Mitting J is nonetheless, if I may respectfully say so, entirely persuasive. Although the Claimant here is not a journalist, the function he performs via his blog is closely analogous. I see no greater justification for a reasonable expectation of anonymity in this case than in that concerning Mr Mahmood.
11. I consider that the Claimant fails at stage one, because blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity.
12. When I move, therefore, to the second stage, the exercise becomes somewhat artificial. That is because I have to proceed on the hypothesis that one or more public interest considerations have to be identified which would be capable of outweighing the Claimant's right to privacy – when I have already held that no such right exists. Nevertheless, I should address the arguments raised. It is not always easy to come to a conclusion on matters of public interest on an application for an interim injunction, as Mitting J observed in Mahmood at [24], but it cannot be ignored since s.12 of the Human Rights Act 1998 requires that an overall view should be formed as to the likelihood of the Claimant succeeding at trial. Such a judgment has to be made almost always on an incomplete picture of the available evidence. But that is what Parliament intended.
13. At this stage it is necessary to address the background circumstances in more detail. The Claimant is a serving detective constable and his blog mostly deals with his police work and his opinions on a number of social and political issues relating to the police and the administration of justice. He expresses strong opinions about these matters including on subjects of political controversy. In particular, he has criticised a number of ministers. In so far as he has written about cases of which he has obtained direct knowledge through his police duties, it is said that he has taken particular care to disguise the information. Moreover, he has tried to make it a practice not to comment on cases which were pending or "active" within the meaning of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. Nor has he flouted any court reporting restrictions. Whether he has always succeeded in achieving these aims may be a matter of debate. Such an exercise will often involve fine questions of judgment.
14. Nevertheless, on the basis of the evidence before me, it has always been apparent that if his employing police authority became aware (as it now has) that one of its officers was communicating information and opinions to the public at large about the conduct of police operations, there would be a significant risk of disciplinary action. This is recognised by the Claimant and is reflected in the evidence of his solicitor. Indeed, this would appear to be one of the main reasons why he was keen from the outset to maintain his anonymity.
15. My attention was drawn to the relevant Police (Conduct) Regulations. Those governing his conduct prior to 1 December 2008 were to be found in SI 2004 No 645 and those applicable subsequently in SI 2008 No 2864. The wording of the provisions differs somewhat, but perhaps not to any material extent. The relevant passages prior to 1 December 2008 were contained in Schedule 1 to the 2004 Regulations under the heading "Code of Conduct":
"Confidentiality
7. Information which comes into the possession of the police should be treated as confidential. It should not be used for personal benefit and nor should it be divulged to other parties except in the proper course of police duty. Similarly, officers should respect, as confidential, information about force policy and operations unless authorised to disclose it in the course of their duties.
…
General Conduct
12. Whether on or off duty, police officers should not behave in a way which is likely to bring discredit upon the police service."
16. Under the more recent 2008 Regulations, the corresponding wording is to be found under the heading "Standards of Professional Behaviour":
"Confidentiality
Police officers treat information with respect and access or disclose it only in the proper course of police duties.
…
Discreditable Conduct
Police officers behave in a manner which does not discredit the police service or undermine public confidence in it, whether on or off duty."
17. It may be said that the wording is in some respects woolly and imprecise. After all, it clearly cannot be intended that police officers have to treat all information "with respect" or be restrained so as not to disclose it except "in the proper course of police duties". There must be some limit. Presumably what is intended is that they should show such restraint in relation to information acquired in the course of, and connected with, their police duties. What would appear to be tolerably clear, however, is that the regulation would certainly apply to information obtained by a police officer about cases on which he is working or has in the past been engaged. It is obvious that the regulations should not be read subject to a proviso such that information of this kind may be "disclosed" or "divulged" if the officer does it anonymously or in his spare time.
18. Mr Tomlinson argues that if The Times were to reveal the Claimant's identity this would not only infringe his rights under Article 8 but also those under Article 10, since it would inhibit his right to impart information and ideas to the general public. It has not been argued, however, that the statutory restrictions on police officers disclosing information are not "necessary", not "proportionate", or not "prescribed by law" (i.e. that they are not compatible with the exceptions recognised in Article 10(2) of the Convention).
19. Against this background, Mr White submits that the obligations contained in the two relevant sets of regulations are imposed in the public interest to maintain appropriate standards of conduct in the police service. It is said that there is a corresponding public interest in the disclosure of any significant non-compliance by a police officer with his obligations under the statutory code.
20. Moreover, it is argued that there is a general public law duty on police officers not to reveal information obtained in the course of a police investigation otherwise than for the purpose of performing public duties: see e.g. R v Chief Constable of the North Wales Police, ex parte Thorpe [1999] QB 396, 409-410, 415, 429. Failure to comply with that duty would also, it is said, justify public exposure. There is much force in the argument that any wrongdoing by a public servant (save perhaps in trivial circumstances) is a matter which can legitimately be drawn to the attention of the public by journalists. There is a growing trend towards openness and transparency in such matters.
21. Although Mr Tomlinson rather dismissed it, a further argument was advanced by Mr White to the effect that the Claimant's writings, being "overtly political and highly critical of central and local policing strategies", are such that the public is entitled to receive information about the author, so as to enable it to make an assessment of the weight and authority to be attached to them. Mr Tomlinson submitted that all the Claimant's readers need to know is that the author is a serving police officer. I disagree. It is very often useful, in assessing the value of an opinion or argument, to know its source. As was pointed out, for example, by Lord Nicholls in Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] 2 AC 127 at 205A-B, one may wish to apply greater caution or scepticism in the case of a person with "an axe to grind". For so long as there is anonymity, it would obviously be difficult to make any such assessment. More generally, when making a judgment as to the value of comments made about police affairs by "insiders", it may sometimes help to know how experienced or senior the commentator is.
22. Mr Tomlinson also submits that there is no public interest in the disclosure of the Claimant's identity and (echoing the language used by the European Court of Human Rights in Von Hannover v Germany (2005) 40 EHRR 1) that the publication of such information would make no "contribution to a debate of general interest".
23. If it were the case that the Defendant's Article 10 right of freedom of expression here is indeed conditional upon establishing a public interest (which I do not believe it is), it would seem to me quite legitimate for the public to be told who it was who was choosing to make, in some instances, quite serious criticisms of police activities and, if it be the case, that frequent infringements of police discipline regulations were taking place. Correspondingly, if the allegations and observations made by the Claimant through his blog were themselves contributing to a debate of general interest, as he undoubtedly thinks they are, I cannot see why the proposed publication in The Times would not be worthy of the same classification.
24. Much of what the Claimant publishes could be characterised as "political speech", since he criticises and ridicules a number of senior politicians. It is well recognised both here and in Strasbourg that considerable value must be attached to a citizen's right to express his opinions on matters of this kind. Nevertheless, constraints are placed upon the rights of civil servants and police officers to become involved in party political debate. Some such restraint may be regarded as legitimate and proportionate for reasons which are fairly obvious; namely, that for some people the discharge of public duties requires them to stand aside from the cut and thrust of such debate. Such constraints are recognised as appropriate, for example, for judges, teachers and civil servants. I sought assistance from counsel as to the precise nature of the restraints placed on police officers in this respect, but they were unable to provide much information save to the extent that it was accepted that police officers are not permitted to stand for elected office.
25. Even though the Claimant believes that he was doing nothing wrong, he suspected that as and when his employing authority discovered his activities, he might be subjected to disciplinary action or, at least, some kind of "pressure" to limit the use of his freedom of expression.
26. I have drawn attention to the wording of the regulations relating to an officer's obligation of confidentiality in relation to "information", but there is also the more general prohibition against "discreditable conduct". This is a notoriously flexible concept, of course, but it might well be thought that some of the Claimant's publications would "discredit the police service or undermine public confidence in it". It would not be appropriate for me to come to any conclusion about that, but I recognise that his superiors might, at least, take that view.
27. It is clear from his own evidence that one of the reasons why the Claimant originally sought the court's assistance to maintain his anonymity was to protect him against disciplinary measures being brought to bear. His solicitor said in his witness statement that:
"26. Publication of the identification of the identity [sic] of the Claimant as the author of the Blog would be likely to cause him significant damage.
27. Firstly, while it appears to be true that the Force has been notified of his identity by the Defendants (in breach of confidence), the Claimant believes that if the matter is subject to publicity in the media this could lead to more serious disciplinary charges being brought – on the basis that the publicity itself might be regarded as damaging to the force and having brought it into disrepute.
28. Secondly, the Claimant has no reason to believe that his identity as the author of the Blog is known beyond his immediate supervisor and the Professional Standards Department of the Force. If this became now [sic] beyond this was group [sic], the Claimant considers that there would be inevitable disruption to his work as a detective. In particular, the Claimant is concerned that his identification as the author of the Blog might have an adverse effect on his working relationships and could make it very difficult for him to carry on his job. Some of his colleagues may be hostile to the Blog and may have objections to working with him as a result. Moreover, if his picture is published, it will also make it far harder for him to undertake the surveillance and informant handling work for which he is trained."
28. As he points out, his identity has been revealed to the police service by the Defendant. Even if this had not happened, however, I would agree with Mr White's observation that any such justification for seeking an injunction would be "unattractive", to say the least. I do not accept that it is part of the court's function to protect police officers who are, or think they may be, acting in breach of police discipline regulations from coming to the attention of their superiors (whose task it is to make judgments about such matters, at least in the first instance).
29. An alternative argument advanced by Mr Tomlinson is founded on the fact that now, for better or worse, the police authority does know about the Claimant's identity. In those circumstances, he suggests, there is no need for the information to be released more widely (i.e. to the readership of The Times). I do not accept that this necessarily follows. It seems to me that the public is entitled to know how police officers behave and the newspaper's readers would be entitled to come to their own conclusions about whether it is desirable for officers to communicate such matters publicly (whether there is an infringement of the disciplinary regulations or not). Of course, generally speaking, there would be no reason to publicise genuinely private matters about police officers, such as their domestic arrangements or personal relationships, but blogging is not a wholly private activity (as I have already noted in the context of addressing the arguments at stage one).
30. Mr Tomlinson sought to draw a distinction between the Claimant's police duties and what he does in his own spare time "off duty". That is nevertheless, in the context of a police officer, a somewhat hazy distinction. It is clear, for example, that police officers should not behave in a manner which brings discredit on the police force "whether on or off duty". Furthermore, the restraints upon disclosing confidential information are not qualified by any wording to the effect that the information can be disclosed otherwise than "in the proper course of police duties" provided that the disclosure takes place when the officer is "off duty". That would make a nonsense of the regulatory requirements.
31. I return briefly to the subject of photographs, to which the Claimant's solicitor referred in his witness statement. I was asked to bear in mind that rather blurred pictures of the Claimant have apparently from time to time appeared in the local press. I am not sure that this assists Mr White's argument, since the photographs are not relevant to the Claimant's identity as the author of the blog in question. On the other hand, his solicitor seems concerned about possible prejudice to undercover work. I would require more convincing evidence before considering the restraint of photographs, especially having regard to the Mahmood decision. There is no suggestion here of physical risk to the Claimant, as there was in that case.
32. As I have already noted, it is necessary for me to have in mind the provisions of s.12 of the Human Rights Act 1998, since the injunction sought would restrain The Times from exercising its right of freedom of expression. I have properly been reminded by both counsel of these provisions and, in all the circumstances, I have come to the conclusion that it is not likely that the Claimant would succeed at trial in restraining The Times from publishing his identity as the author of the blog, whether on grounds of traditional breach of confidence or by way of reliance upon the more recently developed remedies in respect of "private information".
33. I conclude that he fails at stage one, in the sense that the information does not have about it the necessary "quality of confidence", as contemplated by Megarry V.-C. in Coco v A N Clark (Engineers) Ltd [1969] RPC 41; nor does it qualify as information in respect of which the Claimant has a reasonable expectation of privacy – essentially because blogging is a public activity. Furthermore, even if I were wrong about this, I consider that any such right of privacy on the Claimant's part would be likely to be outweighed at trial by a countervailing public interest in revealing that a particular police officer has been making these communications.
Related content:
Ruling on NightJack author Richard Horton kills blogger anonymity
Ex-blogger ex-NightJack Richard Horton
Neutral Citation Number: [2009] EWHC 1358 (QB)
Case No: HQ09X02293
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
16 June 2009
B e f o r e :
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE EADY
____________________
Between:
THE AUTHOR OF A BLOG
Claimant
- and -
TIMES NEWSPAPERS LIMITED
Defendant
____________________
Hugh Tomlinson QC (instructed by Olswang) for the Claimant
Antony White QC and Jonathan Barnes (instructed by Times Newspapers Ltd) for the Defendant
Hearing date: 4 June 2009
____________________
HTML VERSION OF JUDGMENT
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
Mr Justice Eady :
1. On 4 June 2009 I heard an application in private whereby the Claimant, who is the author of a blog known as "Night Jack", sought an interim injunction to restrain Times Newspapers Ltd from publishing any information that would or might lead to his identification as the person responsible for that blog. An undertaking had been given on 28 May 2009 that such information would not be published pending the outcome. I indicated at the conclusion that I would refuse the injunction but, in the meantime, I granted temporary cover to restrain publication until the handing down of the judgment, when the matter could be considered afresh if need be.
2. The Claimant's case, advanced on his behalf by Mr Tomlinson QC, is based both on the traditional law of confidence and upon the more recently developed doctrine acknowledging an independent cause of action arising from the improper disclosure of private information: see e.g. Campbell v MGN Ltd [2004] 2 AC 457 and McKennitt v Ash [2008] QB 73. It is suggested that The Times is subject to an enforceable duty of confidence not to reveal the Claimant's identity as the author of the blog; alternatively, that he has a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of that information, in respect of which there is no countervailing public interest justification for its publication.
3. It was asserted in the Claimant's skeleton for the hearing of 28 May that his identity had been disclosed to The Times in breach of confidence. By the time the matter came before me, on the other hand, Mr Tomlinson was prepared to proceed on the basis that the evidence relied upon from Mr Patrick Foster, the relevant journalist, was correct; that is to say, that he had been able to arrive at the identification by a process of deduction and detective work, mainly using information available on the Internet.
4. Mr Tomlinson submitted that the thousands of regular bloggers who communicate nowadays via the Internet, under a cloak of anonymity, would be horrified to think that the law would do nothing to protect their anonymity if someone carried out the necessary detective work and sought to unmask them. That may be true. I suspect that some would be very concerned and others less so. Be that as it may, Mr Tomlinson needs to demonstrate that there would be a legally enforceable right to maintain anonymity, in the absence of a genuine breach of confidence, by suppressing the fruits of detective work such as that carried out by Mr Foster.
5. Mr Tomlinson's primary argument was simply that the Claimant wished to remain anonymous and has taken steps to preserve his anonymity accordingly. He says that the Defendant is fully aware of the Claimant's wish and that, in the circumstances, there is no justification for "unmasking" him, as he is entitled to keep his identity as the author of the blog private and confidential. Indeed, it is submitted as a general proposition that "there is a public interest in preserving the anonymity of bloggers".
6. It is necessary to examine the matter more closely, however, since the mere fact that the Claimant wishes to remain anonymous does not mean either that he has a reasonable expectation of doing so or that The Times is under an enforceable obligation to him in that respect.
7. It is well known that the court nowadays adopts a two stage approach, when addressing claims based upon the publication of allegedly private information in contravention of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. One must ask, first, whether the claimant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to the particular information in question and, if so, then move to the second stage of enquiring whether there is some countervailing public interest such as to justify overriding that prima facie right. Whereas Mr Tomlinson focused most of his attention upon the second stage, and rather took it for granted that the stage one test had been passed, Mr White QC made it clear on behalf of The Times that it was most certainly not accepted that this Claimant had a reasonable expectation of maintaining his anonymity.
8. The test is an objective one (both for privacy and breach of confidence) and the importance of that has recently been underlined by the Court of Appeal in Napier v Pressdram Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 443 at [42], where Toulson LJ commented:
" … For a duty of confidentiality to be owed (other than under a contract or statute), the information in question must be of a nature and obtained in circumstances such that any reasonable person in the position of the recipient ought to recognise that it should be treated as confidential. As Cross J observed in Printers and Finishers Limited v Holloway [1965] RPC 239, 256, the law would defeat its own object if it seeks to enforce in this field standards which would be rejected by the ordinary person. Freedom to report the truth is a precious thing both for the liberty of the individual (the libertarian principle) and for the sake of wider society (the democratic principle), and it would be unduly eroded if the law of confidentiality were to prevent a person from reporting facts which a reasonable person in his position would not perceive to be confidential."
9. Hitherto, in those cases which have come before the courts where the claimant relied successfully upon the recently developed cause of action, in the absence of any pre-existing relationship of confidence, the information in question has been of a strictly personal nature concerning, for example, sexual relationships, mental or physical health, financial affairs, or the claimant's family or domestic arrangements. I am not aware of a case in which, as here, there is a significant public element in the information sought to be restricted. I have in mind, of course, that what the Claimant seeks to withhold from scrutiny is the identity of the person communicating to the public through his blog. Those who wish to hold forth to the public by this means often take steps to disguise their authorship, but it is in my judgment a significantly further step to argue, if others are able to deduce their identity, that they should be restrained by law from revealing it.
10. Mr White drew my attention to the case of Mahmood v Galloway [2006] EMLR 26. Mr Tomlinson challenged him to identify any useful ratio decidendi from this case, to which Mr White responded by advancing the proposition that a journalist who writes under a pseudonym for the purpose of functioning more effectively in his undercover work has no reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of his identity and, in particular, in relation to photographs which would, when published widely, reveal his identity. It seems to me that Mr White's interpretation is correct and, although the decision is not strictly binding upon me, the reasoning of Mitting J is nonetheless, if I may respectfully say so, entirely persuasive. Although the Claimant here is not a journalist, the function he performs via his blog is closely analogous. I see no greater justification for a reasonable expectation of anonymity in this case than in that concerning Mr Mahmood.
11. I consider that the Claimant fails at stage one, because blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity.
12. When I move, therefore, to the second stage, the exercise becomes somewhat artificial. That is because I have to proceed on the hypothesis that one or more public interest considerations have to be identified which would be capable of outweighing the Claimant's right to privacy – when I have already held that no such right exists. Nevertheless, I should address the arguments raised. It is not always easy to come to a conclusion on matters of public interest on an application for an interim injunction, as Mitting J observed in Mahmood at [24], but it cannot be ignored since s.12 of the Human Rights Act 1998 requires that an overall view should be formed as to the likelihood of the Claimant succeeding at trial. Such a judgment has to be made almost always on an incomplete picture of the available evidence. But that is what Parliament intended.
13. At this stage it is necessary to address the background circumstances in more detail. The Claimant is a serving detective constable and his blog mostly deals with his police work and his opinions on a number of social and political issues relating to the police and the administration of justice. He expresses strong opinions about these matters including on subjects of political controversy. In particular, he has criticised a number of ministers. In so far as he has written about cases of which he has obtained direct knowledge through his police duties, it is said that he has taken particular care to disguise the information. Moreover, he has tried to make it a practice not to comment on cases which were pending or "active" within the meaning of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. Nor has he flouted any court reporting restrictions. Whether he has always succeeded in achieving these aims may be a matter of debate. Such an exercise will often involve fine questions of judgment.
14. Nevertheless, on the basis of the evidence before me, it has always been apparent that if his employing police authority became aware (as it now has) that one of its officers was communicating information and opinions to the public at large about the conduct of police operations, there would be a significant risk of disciplinary action. This is recognised by the Claimant and is reflected in the evidence of his solicitor. Indeed, this would appear to be one of the main reasons why he was keen from the outset to maintain his anonymity.
15. My attention was drawn to the relevant Police (Conduct) Regulations. Those governing his conduct prior to 1 December 2008 were to be found in SI 2004 No 645 and those applicable subsequently in SI 2008 No 2864. The wording of the provisions differs somewhat, but perhaps not to any material extent. The relevant passages prior to 1 December 2008 were contained in Schedule 1 to the 2004 Regulations under the heading "Code of Conduct":
"Confidentiality
7. Information which comes into the possession of the police should be treated as confidential. It should not be used for personal benefit and nor should it be divulged to other parties except in the proper course of police duty. Similarly, officers should respect, as confidential, information about force policy and operations unless authorised to disclose it in the course of their duties.
…
General Conduct
12. Whether on or off duty, police officers should not behave in a way which is likely to bring discredit upon the police service."
16. Under the more recent 2008 Regulations, the corresponding wording is to be found under the heading "Standards of Professional Behaviour":
"Confidentiality
Police officers treat information with respect and access or disclose it only in the proper course of police duties.
…
Discreditable Conduct
Police officers behave in a manner which does not discredit the police service or undermine public confidence in it, whether on or off duty."
17. It may be said that the wording is in some respects woolly and imprecise. After all, it clearly cannot be intended that police officers have to treat all information "with respect" or be restrained so as not to disclose it except "in the proper course of police duties". There must be some limit. Presumably what is intended is that they should show such restraint in relation to information acquired in the course of, and connected with, their police duties. What would appear to be tolerably clear, however, is that the regulation would certainly apply to information obtained by a police officer about cases on which he is working or has in the past been engaged. It is obvious that the regulations should not be read subject to a proviso such that information of this kind may be "disclosed" or "divulged" if the officer does it anonymously or in his spare time.
18. Mr Tomlinson argues that if The Times were to reveal the Claimant's identity this would not only infringe his rights under Article 8 but also those under Article 10, since it would inhibit his right to impart information and ideas to the general public. It has not been argued, however, that the statutory restrictions on police officers disclosing information are not "necessary", not "proportionate", or not "prescribed by law" (i.e. that they are not compatible with the exceptions recognised in Article 10(2) of the Convention).
19. Against this background, Mr White submits that the obligations contained in the two relevant sets of regulations are imposed in the public interest to maintain appropriate standards of conduct in the police service. It is said that there is a corresponding public interest in the disclosure of any significant non-compliance by a police officer with his obligations under the statutory code.
20. Moreover, it is argued that there is a general public law duty on police officers not to reveal information obtained in the course of a police investigation otherwise than for the purpose of performing public duties: see e.g. R v Chief Constable of the North Wales Police, ex parte Thorpe [1999] QB 396, 409-410, 415, 429. Failure to comply with that duty would also, it is said, justify public exposure. There is much force in the argument that any wrongdoing by a public servant (save perhaps in trivial circumstances) is a matter which can legitimately be drawn to the attention of the public by journalists. There is a growing trend towards openness and transparency in such matters.
21. Although Mr Tomlinson rather dismissed it, a further argument was advanced by Mr White to the effect that the Claimant's writings, being "overtly political and highly critical of central and local policing strategies", are such that the public is entitled to receive information about the author, so as to enable it to make an assessment of the weight and authority to be attached to them. Mr Tomlinson submitted that all the Claimant's readers need to know is that the author is a serving police officer. I disagree. It is very often useful, in assessing the value of an opinion or argument, to know its source. As was pointed out, for example, by Lord Nicholls in Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] 2 AC 127 at 205A-B, one may wish to apply greater caution or scepticism in the case of a person with "an axe to grind". For so long as there is anonymity, it would obviously be difficult to make any such assessment. More generally, when making a judgment as to the value of comments made about police affairs by "insiders", it may sometimes help to know how experienced or senior the commentator is.
22. Mr Tomlinson also submits that there is no public interest in the disclosure of the Claimant's identity and (echoing the language used by the European Court of Human Rights in Von Hannover v Germany (2005) 40 EHRR 1) that the publication of such information would make no "contribution to a debate of general interest".
23. If it were the case that the Defendant's Article 10 right of freedom of expression here is indeed conditional upon establishing a public interest (which I do not believe it is), it would seem to me quite legitimate for the public to be told who it was who was choosing to make, in some instances, quite serious criticisms of police activities and, if it be the case, that frequent infringements of police discipline regulations were taking place. Correspondingly, if the allegations and observations made by the Claimant through his blog were themselves contributing to a debate of general interest, as he undoubtedly thinks they are, I cannot see why the proposed publication in The Times would not be worthy of the same classification.
24. Much of what the Claimant publishes could be characterised as "political speech", since he criticises and ridicules a number of senior politicians. It is well recognised both here and in Strasbourg that considerable value must be attached to a citizen's right to express his opinions on matters of this kind. Nevertheless, constraints are placed upon the rights of civil servants and police officers to become involved in party political debate. Some such restraint may be regarded as legitimate and proportionate for reasons which are fairly obvious; namely, that for some people the discharge of public duties requires them to stand aside from the cut and thrust of such debate. Such constraints are recognised as appropriate, for example, for judges, teachers and civil servants. I sought assistance from counsel as to the precise nature of the restraints placed on police officers in this respect, but they were unable to provide much information save to the extent that it was accepted that police officers are not permitted to stand for elected office.
25. Even though the Claimant believes that he was doing nothing wrong, he suspected that as and when his employing authority discovered his activities, he might be subjected to disciplinary action or, at least, some kind of "pressure" to limit the use of his freedom of expression.
26. I have drawn attention to the wording of the regulations relating to an officer's obligation of confidentiality in relation to "information", but there is also the more general prohibition against "discreditable conduct". This is a notoriously flexible concept, of course, but it might well be thought that some of the Claimant's publications would "discredit the police service or undermine public confidence in it". It would not be appropriate for me to come to any conclusion about that, but I recognise that his superiors might, at least, take that view.
27. It is clear from his own evidence that one of the reasons why the Claimant originally sought the court's assistance to maintain his anonymity was to protect him against disciplinary measures being brought to bear. His solicitor said in his witness statement that:
"26. Publication of the identification of the identity [sic] of the Claimant as the author of the Blog would be likely to cause him significant damage.
27. Firstly, while it appears to be true that the Force has been notified of his identity by the Defendants (in breach of confidence), the Claimant believes that if the matter is subject to publicity in the media this could lead to more serious disciplinary charges being brought – on the basis that the publicity itself might be regarded as damaging to the force and having brought it into disrepute.
28. Secondly, the Claimant has no reason to believe that his identity as the author of the Blog is known beyond his immediate supervisor and the Professional Standards Department of the Force. If this became now [sic] beyond this was group [sic], the Claimant considers that there would be inevitable disruption to his work as a detective. In particular, the Claimant is concerned that his identification as the author of the Blog might have an adverse effect on his working relationships and could make it very difficult for him to carry on his job. Some of his colleagues may be hostile to the Blog and may have objections to working with him as a result. Moreover, if his picture is published, it will also make it far harder for him to undertake the surveillance and informant handling work for which he is trained."
28. As he points out, his identity has been revealed to the police service by the Defendant. Even if this had not happened, however, I would agree with Mr White's observation that any such justification for seeking an injunction would be "unattractive", to say the least. I do not accept that it is part of the court's function to protect police officers who are, or think they may be, acting in breach of police discipline regulations from coming to the attention of their superiors (whose task it is to make judgments about such matters, at least in the first instance).
29. An alternative argument advanced by Mr Tomlinson is founded on the fact that now, for better or worse, the police authority does know about the Claimant's identity. In those circumstances, he suggests, there is no need for the information to be released more widely (i.e. to the readership of The Times). I do not accept that this necessarily follows. It seems to me that the public is entitled to know how police officers behave and the newspaper's readers would be entitled to come to their own conclusions about whether it is desirable for officers to communicate such matters publicly (whether there is an infringement of the disciplinary regulations or not). Of course, generally speaking, there would be no reason to publicise genuinely private matters about police officers, such as their domestic arrangements or personal relationships, but blogging is not a wholly private activity (as I have already noted in the context of addressing the arguments at stage one).
30. Mr Tomlinson sought to draw a distinction between the Claimant's police duties and what he does in his own spare time "off duty". That is nevertheless, in the context of a police officer, a somewhat hazy distinction. It is clear, for example, that police officers should not behave in a manner which brings discredit on the police force "whether on or off duty". Furthermore, the restraints upon disclosing confidential information are not qualified by any wording to the effect that the information can be disclosed otherwise than "in the proper course of police duties" provided that the disclosure takes place when the officer is "off duty". That would make a nonsense of the regulatory requirements.
31. I return briefly to the subject of photographs, to which the Claimant's solicitor referred in his witness statement. I was asked to bear in mind that rather blurred pictures of the Claimant have apparently from time to time appeared in the local press. I am not sure that this assists Mr White's argument, since the photographs are not relevant to the Claimant's identity as the author of the blog in question. On the other hand, his solicitor seems concerned about possible prejudice to undercover work. I would require more convincing evidence before considering the restraint of photographs, especially having regard to the Mahmood decision. There is no suggestion here of physical risk to the Claimant, as there was in that case.
32. As I have already noted, it is necessary for me to have in mind the provisions of s.12 of the Human Rights Act 1998, since the injunction sought would restrain The Times from exercising its right of freedom of expression. I have properly been reminded by both counsel of these provisions and, in all the circumstances, I have come to the conclusion that it is not likely that the Claimant would succeed at trial in restraining The Times from publishing his identity as the author of the blog, whether on grounds of traditional breach of confidence or by way of reliance upon the more recently developed remedies in respect of "private information".
33. I conclude that he fails at stage one, in the sense that the information does not have about it the necessary "quality of confidence", as contemplated by Megarry V.-C. in Coco v A N Clark (Engineers) Ltd [1969] RPC 41; nor does it qualify as information in respect of which the Claimant has a reasonable expectation of privacy – essentially because blogging is a public activity. Furthermore, even if I were wrong about this, I consider that any such right of privacy on the Claimant's part would be likely to be outweighed at trial by a countervailing public interest in revealing that a particular police officer has been making these communications.
Related content:
Ruling on NightJack author Richard Horton kills blogger anonymity
Ex-blogger ex-NightJack Richard Horton
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)