200 Pledge to Back Private Prosecution
Over two hundred people have pledged to contribute financially towards bringing a private prosecution over Loans for Lordships since the CPS has shown itself unwilling to do so.Guido has taken soundings and now believes that the best course of action is to form a special purpose vehicle to instruct a legal team and take this further. It also seems wise to first allow the Public Administration Select Committee to conduct its investigation when MPs return after the recess. They will hold evidence sessions after Parliament returns from its summer recess, and report by the end of the year.
Tony Wright plans to call Assistant Commissioner John Yates as a witness. It will be particularly interesting to see what evidence comes out at that time. Meantime if you want to be involved in the formation of a vehicle to bring a prosecution or have relevant legal experience and knowledge, email Guido.
The Courts come to a halt and the political class will be on holiday for the next month. Guido will be in touch with pledge makers with more details in due course.
70 comments:
I sadly withdraw my offer.
It wont work , we live in a corrupt dictatorship , the very fact that a private prosecution has to be considered prooves it.
It will be stamped upon from high and get nowhere.
If we had an opposition they would be doing something about this, as it is all we have are a bucnh of time serving self interested arseholes who call themselves an opposition.
Britain no longer exists and whats left aint worth fighting for.
What's the point of setting up an SPV to bring the action? I can see that you are trying to limit the liability of your donors, but equally before proceeding, the defendants are going to ask for security for their costs to be put into court (on the basis that the SPV will have no trading history, other assets etc - definately if it is based offshore) and/or the directors of the SPV could be vulnerable to a claim against their personal assets if the SPV ended up insolvent as a result of their reckless actions... just a few things you might like to think about.
According to Joshua Rozenburg, any private prosecution will be taken over by the CPS and shut down.
I suppose some people have more money than sense.
Forget the private prosecution, why don't you publish a full and frank apology to all the 'accused' in the cash for honours affair?
This site was guilty of an unfair and sustained smear campaign.
The people have given their verdict on your cash for honours smear campaign.
The latest poll gives Labour a 114 seat majority!!
more astroturf than QPR in the 80s on here today
Only 114 ?
Yes, 'only' 114.
Read it and weep, tory boy!!
Totally unrelated:::
Let's face it, people planning to watch Malcolm And Barbara: Love's Farewell, due to air on ITV soon, were only going to watch it because they had been told by ITV's publicity machine that the documentary would show the exact moment when alzheimer sufferer Malcolm died. People might deny it, but that was the selling point of the show. People wanted to see a death. But after all hype, it appears that's not necessarily true. Actually it isn't true at all. The "death" in the film was actually filmed three days before Malcolm's death in real life. ITV have hoodwinked the public. Everybody knows about this show, and that's because of one reason only. ITV hooked it on Malcolm's death. But it looks like they have sold Barbara and her memories of Malcolm down the river. The daily Mail suggests Barbara herself thought the footage shown, which is actulaly that of Malcolm slipping into unconsciousness, was his dying moment. What was going to be a moving documentary has been scarred by imcompetence at ITV. Heads, as people say, should roll.
Will people criticise ITV as much as they have the BBC?? I doubt it.
If a Private Prosecution turns out to be unfeasible, perhaps you could publish all the evidence (that the Police are prepared to fall into the right hands.)
An offshore weblink to a downloadable pdf file would do the trick.
Do you think Spycatcher could have been silenced if the internet had been so accessible in the late 80's?
Just because NuLabour have managed to nobble the judicial process in this country, we shouldn't roll over and let them get away with their corruption of this country.
Let's make the bastards sweat a bit.
We have went from sock buying to this in one blog. Marvellous stuff, can't get this variety of entertainment anywhere else.
But seriously, we all heard the evidence made available, which seemed fairly convincing that, at the very least, of serious moral corruptness, and at worst, illegality. So what, I hear you say, being morally corrupt is not a crime! Maybe, but its our MP's, being paid by our taxes.
So I say, keep going Guido & co. If you have the money, take it as far as you can. At the very least it shows them they can't act without impunity. Even if they get away with it, chances are it won't happen again. Surely there's something worthwhile in that!
The simple and inconvenient fact from your pov is that nobody broke the law.
There may be grounds for criticism as regards breaking the 'spirit' of the law but no prosecution can succeed on that basis.
The defendants will find it almost impossible to gain security for costs so long as the SPV is not an offshore vehicle. So if the SPV is a British limited company they will not need to provide security.
If security for costs was always required, no poor person could commence an action.
The prosecution will only be allowed to go ahead if there is new evidence that was not available to either the police or the CPS.
There isn't any new evidence!
I pity the people who have signed up to donate hard cash for this trivial pursuit.
If charges are brought, all donations will be squandered but Guido may collect on his bet!!
WAKE UP SUCKERS!!!!!!!
His Grace concurs. A limited company does not need to provide security; it is a contradiction in terms.
Guido Fawkes Ltd.
Incorporated: 2007
Business: Ridding the nation of incompetence, sleaze, and corruption.
And His Grace does not care if the case is eventually lost. Principles are important.
The Hitch said...
I sadly withdraw my offer.
All mouth and fatty tissue,as I suspected.
Were the Southall Cons. telling the truth or Dave over the Lit selection? Were they consulted or not?
The failure to secure a prosecution has no connection whatsoever to whether anyone committed a crime. It relates to a particular judgement as to whether that crime could likely be proved beyond reasonable doubt. We can argue as to whether it was an appropriate decision to take in this matter to decide that there was not enough evidence to go forward on this basis (a basis which obviously means that quite a lot of guilty people, including those who a jury might find guilty, will 'get off free') but that is seperate from the issue of whether an average set of reasonable people will quite rationally, on the balance of probabilities, deem them to have committed the criminal act. that is the way in which we arrive at decisions sensibly in all other walks of life. we just feel that it is not good enough (ie will be wrong too often, which it would) to lock people up on and give them a criminal record.
You sick fuck. How dare you do this? You're going down, mother fucker. You're a shit. Yer wife's been sleeping around ... Who's the daddy?
Cunt.
don't let the buggers get you down said: But seriously, we all heard the evidence made available, which seemed fairly convincing that, at the very least, of serious moral corruptness, and at worst, illegality.
The trouble is, we haven't heard ALL the evidence.
I agree we need to carry on, even if its overseas. Remember, we can raise this in any court in Europe now, and demand instant extradition, laws that Blair himself introduced.
Message to astroturfers and old pensioner nutter. Events dear boys, events.
It also seems wise to first allow the Public Administration Select Committee to conduct its investigation when MPs return after the recess.
Mmm... So all the Labour trolls need to do to is to spin their investigations out for a year or three (easily done) and by then Labour is re-elected.
Anonymous 4.56, your are right, rivate prosecutions can be taken over the government but such decisions can also be judicially reviewed and even with a Labour supporting judiciary they would need a pretty high standard of proof to demonstrate the required 'public interest'.
Anonymouse 4.59, the people have given their verdict: maybe but the courts haven't had a chance yet so we'll see shall we? Incidentally, have you ever heard of an unpopular mafiosi? No, that's because they're always very popular people. Does that make what they do ok? A demogogue is not the same as a democrat.
A whole *200*? Wow. Your fabled readership really rallied round.
anonytosser said:
Forget the private prosecution, why don't you publish a full and frank apology to all the 'accused' in the cash for honours affair?
This site was guilty of an unfair and sustained smear campaign.
That you Levy?
I am good for a monkey.
if you want to be involved in the formation of a vehicle to bring a prosecution
bags i'm one of those little squirty thingies that washes the windscreen
Scary Biscuits said...
God your full of it.
The Hitch said...
I sadly withdraw my offer.
Always one.
Tony Wright is a sycophantic wanker. He is about as likely to let a questioning or the final report be even the slightest bit critical of a man he considers we all undoubtably consider one of the nicest PMs ever.
Guido,
The British Army left NI today, 38 years after hostilities began.
There's a lot I'd like to say but I think I can summarize it thus:
"Cunts"
A part Irish British Soldier
"According to Joshua Rozenburg, any private prosecution will be taken over by the CPS and shut down"
Bollocks. Whilst I agree about waiting, put a backstop date on this so that we'll go ahead whether or not govt machinations have completed.
Democratically, it is a matter of immense importance that we, the people, should know what the facts were. The evidential bar having been placed at a high and questionable level, the CPS have been able to say "No CPS prosecution", but no-one - not Government, not law officer, not Committee of the House of Commons, no-one! - should be allowed to keep from the public a detailed knowledge of what the report said, of what the investigation discovered. Otherwise, democracy is truly dead in this country, and there stretches ahead for our nation a future in which obscuring curtains can at will be pulled down over anything in the sphere of activities by or around a Government that the Government would much rather the electorate didn't know.
It's horrible to see the criminalisation of politics like this. Every time you remind people about this private prosecution idea it only makes them increasingly sympathise with Levy and co. Start talking about real issues, not this vendetta tosh.
Still flogging this dead horse Guido?
His Grace claims this is a question of 'principles', but I think he has fallen into the trap C.S. Lewis described of straining to see fern seed a mile away when there's an elephant standing in front of you.
No-one cares about this anymore, and even six months ago it was only of interest to the political lobby. Yes, the whole donations issue needs tidying up right across all parties. But is it something to spend your life blogging about? No. Is it something to try and begin a private prosecution over? Of course not.
If principles mattered you would elicit support to prosecute Blair for war crimes against humanity. I rather suspect that if there were a God he'd be a lot more concerned about the deaths of thousands of innocent children, women and men in Iraq than whether or not X, Y or Z thought they might be preferred if they made a donation to the Gov't. Do let's a sense of perspective!
ianp 6.43
You are right, which is why I said all evidence "made available". The point being that based on this alone, there is at least something fishy going on. Some will say, "but the remaining evidence may actually show their innocence". Yeah right, regardless of how sensitive it may be, if it was helpful to Blair and Co, you could bet your latest pair of M&S socks that it would be made available or leaked out.
astro @ 5:02:
The latest poll gives Labour a 114 seat majority!!
On the Spreadfair market the latest spread is 310-313, somewhat short of an overall majority.
Clearly the people who are prepared to back their views with money don't see it the same as you.
The DP has the authority to take over any prosecution and close it down. So you will need enough dosh to bring an action against the DP or CPS when they try and close down the prosecution.
I cannot understand why the Trolls are so restless - surely the best way to clear anyone is have a trial, make the evidence public and place it before a jury. Then justice is not simply done, but seen to be done. Failure to have a trial means the impression of corrupt government will fester away and further destroy public trust. If there really is no evidence against anyone, why would anyone object to the evidence that does exist being put before a court? Why is no-one insisting on a trial to clear their name?
Cranmer said...
His Grace concurs. A limited company does not need to provide security;
Afraid you're wrong Your Grace. If the Court considers a limited company litigating as plaintiff, like a real person, may not have sufficient assets, it will be required to provide security for costs in case it loses the action. Not the same as not being able to pay any damages that may be awarded.
Assuming most of them are lightweights like Hitch or just sensible folk who see an albatross yawning this will never happen. Even if the average were £20 per head this would not sustain a prosecution team past elevenses. The opposition aren't onto it in any big way because they all - barring the nationalist muppets (and one rogue Tory) - know the way this game is played in real life.
Fundraising from successful people and honours to successful people bound to overlap a bit. Only answer short of state funding anathema is to stop honours for people who already have honours stacked high in their banks.
Honours for women and men of straw only from now on in. What say you Captain Ahab?
Face it Guido, it ain't gonna happen.
No-one's gonna allow you to pull this off, tooooooo much vested in interests all around.
Yates will spill the beans to the Parliamentary committee which will taint all evidence, for ever, far better than any nuclear spill.
Put you money into an SPV by all means, use it to hire some hit men, the results are far more gratifying and permanent.
May I be so bold as to ask which Conservative politician (or former) you intend to bring a prosecution against?
I find it absolutely incredible that so many posters seem happy that responsibility for any wrong doing has disappeared completely from our political elite. The same people who want to want the innocent majority to carry ID Cards and force estate agents out of business if they try and circumvent the absolutely appalling HIPs that roughly 15% of people actually support (so much for listening to the people, eh Mr Brown?)
Good idea. Except ... there's something very suspicious about cash for prosecutions.
Anonotroll: 'The latest poll gives Labour a 114 seat majority!!'
Then why is the Clunking One not calling an election?
Ralph said...
Anonotroll: 'The latest poll gives Labour a 114 seat majority!!'
Then why is the Clunking One not calling an election?
The guy is running the country.He has no need to call an election.That's why thicko.
Keep at it, Guido. To me, the most important thing is that it shall not become an accepted thing for a Government to pull down the blinds over anything in the Government sphere that they don't want the public to know about in any meaningful detail.
("Blinds", btw, not "curtains" - I got the metaphor wrong in an earlier post. The curtains would be for transparency, for democracy - which involves us, the people, learning the true facts of alleged goings-on like this.)
nempnet thrubwell:10.02pm & 10.03pm.
Dear readers the original nempnet thrubwell posted at 6.46pm. A guttersnipe plagiarist posted comments at the times shown above which in no way reflect the views of the real nempnet thrubwell. End of.
Anonymous said...
A whole *200*? Wow. Your fabled readership really rallied round.
Yes Anon 200 but would you like to bet that within the 200 there are Lawyers, Barristers, Financiers, Journos and all round Radicals who care that your Sleazy little friends meet Justice (though my preference is they meet there maker) but I suppose we can let the wheels of Justice grind or fall off, be sure if they do fall of or are dislodged by your crooked friends there are plenty of Albanians, Turks, Russians and yes even Islamists for hire..draw from that what you will.
Camera stellata
Blah, blah, blah.
When are you people going to stop wanking off over sleazy Leavy et al and get down to dealing with the incumbent lot.
Hello!...anybody home???
Tories just cannot accept Labour Governments. You guys need to understand that you need to win at the ballot box, not use your money as a substitute for it.
But Gordon is in place due to Tony and not due to Gordon. Big difference here and very infuriating for bully boy.
He needs his own election to finally rid himself of the ball and chain.
One of the Issues with an Order of Mandamus is that it only really applies if the duty of public nature is imperative and not discretionary. However , if it can be proven that there was an illegal exercise of discretion; ie:
1: The order is made in excess of jurisdiction.
2: The order made is 'mala fide'
3: The authority involved is influenced by extraneous consideration.
Then there could definitely be a case to answer. I suspect the battle may be fought over point 3. Bang in an immediate FOI request for any email correspondence between Chris Newell, Ken Macdonald and Carmen Dowd regarding the cash for honours investigation. Also, if the any of the people involved in the desicion have links with the Labour party (ie, party members or donors, even social links) it could have a bearing as the proof bar is lower in a private prosecution . At the very least, they would have to reveal in court (and on oath) the exact reasoniong behind their decision not to prosecute.
An order of Continuing Mandamus could also possibly be used on the Charity Commision's investigation into the Smith institute if they decide not to procede with your case or fail to carry out their task expeditiously. As Dame Suzie Leather is a known Labour activist you might have a little more luck in this direction...Good Luck.
Anonymous said...
Yes Anon 200 but would you like to bet that within the 200 there are Lawyers, Barristers, Financiers, Journos and all round Radicals.
Your daft lad,you have (had) the likes of "the hitch", that was the guy who jumped ship.Shotgun,a laugh a minute if you tried to collect on any pledge that cretin made.There is the lovely Julian,changes his pic and his hairstyle and thinks he matters.The only folk on this blog who matter are the old age pensioners, and their allies.Trouble is they support Gordon.Matron would like it to be known, that we also have lawyers and doctors staying with us at the home.Not always awake but they do offer advice from time to time.Matron ignores most of it though,some of it is not very nice.We like Matron,she smells nice,Matron likes Guido a lot.
Anonymous said...
One of the Issues with an Order of Mandamus
Piss off.
nempnet thrubwell said...
Dear readers the original nempnet thrubwell posted at 6.46pm. A guttersnipe plagiarist posted comments at the times shown above which in no way reflect the views of the real nempnet thrubwell. End of.
You shouldn't have called me a "nutter",I was hurt.
pensioners are us said:
Your daft lad,you have (had) the likes of "the hitch", that was the guy who jumped ship.Shotgun,a laugh a minute if you tried to collect on any pledge that cretin made.There is the lovely Julian,changes his pic and his hairstyle and thinks he matters.
So what if they are armchair radicals who balk at the idea when it comes to putting money where their mouth is..really it just about sums up the cowardly nature of a large majority of the population of Britain these days, a little more pain won't hurt them, blow up tubes and where's the rage, blow up airports and not a peep, 100's of soldiers dead and maimed and still the silence is deafening.
So let them all pull out then as one avenue closes another (preferred) one opens...my preference. Czech Made Mate !!
Anonymous said...it just about sums up the cowardly nature of a large majority of the population of Britain these days,
Not cowards,greedy and selfish.That started with Maggie, and continued with all who followed.Blair was the last straw with many.I am Labour but that man did untold damage.Gordon could yet make amends.We are not as nice as once we were,or as happy.
pensioners are us said: A lot of really badly written, misspelled and boring stuff-Were you not taught how to punctuate at the Secondary Modern?
Also, the "Pensioner" persona isn't really working-its boring, vapid and unfunny. The use of the Matron cliche is particularly dull.
Try harder you try hard cunt-if you're going to shoot the king, make sure you kill him.
in memory of tiddles and comfy socks said...
Not cowards,greedy and selfish.That started with Maggie, and continued with all who followed.Blair was the last straw with many.I am Labour but that man did untold damage.Gordon could yet make amends.We are not as nice as once we were,or as happy.
- - # # - -
Cowardice, greed and selfishness, Soldiers given poor quality accommodation or told to remove uniform in case of offence, Blackpool teenage girl allegedly murdered and chopped up for kebabs, Scottish teenager castrated and set on fire and left to die, BAE inquiry quashed and now US DoJ investigate, Christmas banned at every opportunity, homosexuality to be taught to primary school kids, kids running wild shooting and stabbing each other and innocent people, school kids getting beaten to be further humiliated on YouTube the list goes on and on all in the past ten years to the shame of this group of "Marxists and Liberals ".
No I think cowardice, spineless, ignorant and unpatriotic covers it far more than greed and selfishness, but when you stick your head in the sand and let those in charge get away with it perhaps the sooner it all descends into violence and anarchy the better.
Anonymous said...
pensioners are us said: A lot of really badly written, misspelled and boring stuff-Were you not taught how to punctuate at the Secondary Modern?
Also, the "Pensioner" persona isn't really working-its boring, vapid and unfunny. The use of the Matron cliche is particularly dull.
Try harder you try hard cunt-if you're going to shoot the king, make sure you kill him.
Thanks for replying.I agree spelling,punctuation and the like not one of my strong points.Education was to say the least minimal.Poor health and not much in the way of money didn't help.The pensioner,matron bit now bloody boring,dropped as of now,thanks for the feedback.I have decided to go with the "in memory of Tiddles and comfy socks",what do think ?
Anonymous said...the sooner it all descends into violence and anarchy the better.
What you need friend is a bottle of Co-op Rum and a nice pair of Co-op Comfy Socks.Bit of jazz on the CD Player,preferably Bix and the gang,and the world will become a better place.For a while anyway.
ratty the third said...
What you need friend is a bottle of Co-op Rum and a nice pair of Co-op Comfy Socks.Bit of jazz on the CD Player,preferably Bix and the gang,and the world will become a better place.For a while anyway.
- - # # - -
You presume I am not in favour of the latter solution, what does it take to wake the masses from their Eastenders Opiate Comatose State, but please allow me to introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste....pleased to meet you can you guess my name :)
the reverend doctor 7:14AM, August 01
If principles mattered you would elicit support to prosecute Blair for war crimes against humanity. I rather suspect that if there were a God he'd be a lot more concerned about the deaths of thousands of innocent children, women and men in Iraq than whether or not X, Y or Z thought they might be preferred if they made a donation to the Gov't. Do let's a sense of perspective!
Quite, reverend, we should pick something upon which the common man can put his finger, something he can grasp, something he can digest, something tangible, something into which we can all really get our teeth...something...like a prosecution against Gordon Brown, the man who appalled a generation by shamelessly eating a bogie in front of the entire nation, leaving innocent men, women and young children with post traumatic stress, nightmares and the need for counselling sessions with psychiatrists and group hugs; Guido, we should immediately instigate a private action against the Prime Minister for public indecency.
anonymous 8:42 AM, August 01
If there really is no evidence against anyone, why would anyone object to the evidence that does exist being put before a court?
I can definitely see the sense in this argument.
Why is no-one insisting on a trial to clear their name?
Maybe they don't consider themselves to have names worth clearing.
anonymous 2:55AM, August 01
Otherwise, democracy is truly dead in this country, and there stretches ahead for our nation a future in which obscuring curtains can at will be pulled down over anything in the sphere of activities by or around a Government that the Government would much rather the electorate didn't know.
The electorate would probably rather not know about the majority of what Gordon Brown gets up to behind closed doors.
6:05 PM, August 01
("Blinds", btw, not "curtains" - I got the metaphor wrong in an earlier post. The curtains would be for transparency, for democracy - which involves us, the people, learning the true facts of alleged goings-on like this.)
I think that when one has to measure up a metaphor as assiduously as this it is unlikely to be as fitting as one which comes to mind ready made - though I'm sure that all of us can agree that we would prefer it to be curtains for New Labour.
in memeory of tiddles and comfy socks 12:21 PM, August 03
"in memory of Tiddles and comfy socks"
this tag will have real resonance with real englishmen
You pull curtains across, you don't pull curtains down (or if you do, it doesn't obscure). You pull blinds down.
(Your own neat metaphors have not gone unnoticed, though, hang-out.)
Whatever be the metaphor juste for hiding facts from the public, I do not like the obscuring or hiding of what actually happened in 'Cash for Honours'.
I do not like it one little bit.
A thought occurs that the nulab trolls should be in favour of this private prosecution - wouldn't they be happy to see Mr. Fawkes publicly humiliated since there's "obviously" no case to answer
Thought this might interest you Guido:
In Chantrey Vellacott v The Convergence Group and others [2007] EWHC 1774, Rimer J ordered a company director personally to pay, on an indemnity basis, the costs of a failed negligence action brought by his companies against their former accountants. The costs were also to include the costs of a failed mediation. The negligence claim had been a huge counterclaim in response to a modest claim for unpaid professional fees. The judge found that the director was the real party to the litigation and had dishonestly put forward a case which stood no chance of success.
The case is a useful example of when a company director can be ordered to pay costs as a non-party: an area which the courts have admitted that they find difficult. It also illustrates the circumstances in which applications for indemnity costs and costs of a failed mediation are likely to succeed. Finally, it serves as a warning to solicitors to consider carefully with director clients whether they might face similar costs orders if they insist on their companies pursuing speculative or difficult claims.
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