The Judicial System Of Great Britain - Protecting The Rights Of UK Citizens?

No, not really.

Pakistani national Sheraz Malik, 28, was found guilty of raping a 'vulnerable' teenage girl whom he and a friend pounced on in a park in the constituency of Reform MP Lee Anderson. Mr Anderson first exposed Malik as an asylum seeker last year after he was arrested for targeting the 18-year-old woman when she was alone in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

But a judge stopped the public from being told about the rapist's asylum status by gagging the Press from reporting it until the end of his trial, it can now be revealed.

A jury on Monday convicted Malik of two counts of rape after just a few hours of deliberation at Birmingham Crown Court.

Who imposed the order? One of those 'diverse' judges we were told we desperately needed to 'improve' our justice system, of course: 

At a hearing at Nottingham Crown Court in September, Judge Nirmal Shant imposed a reporting restriction postponing publication of Malik's immigration status until the end of the trial, to avoid a 'substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice'.

But don’t focus all your opprobium on her, Reader, the old white male judges are really no better:  

In court Malik was asked why he took advantage of the victim, and replied: 'What else was I supposed to do?' Asked how he arrived in Europe, Malik protested that the question was not relevant – prompting Judge Simon Ash to intervene and side with the defendant.

Malik will be sentenced at a later date.

The entire edifice needs sweeping out like the Augean Stables. For the same reason.

The Usual Contrast...

The killer:

The benefit claimant, whose only child is in foster care, has amassed a record of criminal offending for repeated shoplifting, theft, drugs and assault in both Scotland and England but has never previously served a jail sentence, the court heard.

The victim:

ex-Royal Marine Alun Harris-Richards...who had an undiagnosed heart disease, 'suffered such physical and emotional stress that he then and there sustained a heart attack, fell to the ground, struck his head and died'.

The punishment...perhaps

A judge told Smith, formerly of North Grimsby, Arbroath, that the only possible punishment for her offending was 'a significant custodial sentence'. The hearing was adjourned for sentencing at a later date and Smith was remanded in prison.

Adjourned so reports can be written, no doubt, reports that will outline how leniency is expected for the killer. They certainly won’t mention the gulf between the victim with his decent life and worthwhile job and the worthless waste of skin who killed him, will they? 

OK, We'll Kill Off All The Large Herbivores then, Shall We?

It's lucky Barbados doesn't have the sweeping herds of the Serengetti, so tourism won't be as affected, eh, Mia?

As temperatures continue to rise – including in the oceans, where the extra heat fuels more powerful hurricanes – far greater catastrophes lie ahead as feedback loops push the planet past irreversible tipping points.We have already passed our first tipping point, the progressive loss of warm-water coral reefs, on which nearly a billion people and a quarter of marine life depend; a development particularly relevant to island countries like Barbados.

We are on the brink of several more, including the death of the Amazon rainforest...

Which is actually in more danger from climate shindigs, isn't it? 

Cutting methane emissions is the fastest and simplest way to slow near-term warming and prevent triggering more tipping points.

A legally binding methane agreement for the oil and gas sector can prevent energy waste, while buying time over the next 15 to 20 years to build resilience as research to scale up decarbonising technologies to commercial level builds pace. This will give countries in the south with oil and gas assets the opportunity to use the one thing that can finance their way to net zero.

Net Zero is a fantasy, Mia, nothing we humans down here can do, when climate is driven by that giant ball of burning hydrogen in the sky. 

Self Control Is Free…

In theory, anyone struggling with obesity can - without the expense of a private doctor - get help to manage their weight. Only that's not the full picture.

Well, it wouldn't be, would it - here we go again with 'health equality'....

Thousands of NHS patients are believed to be missing out. And with the NHS tightly restricting access, some working in the field warn a two-tier system around weight-loss drugs is developing - one that's benefitting the most well-off.

 As if eating less and exercising more wasn't an almost totally free option.

"It's scary," says Brad, a tech company worker in his 40s. He has been taking Mounjaro for a year and worries he may not be able to afford to continue. "I've lost 20kg and want to keep using it, but it's a lot of money. It's unfair."

 Have you tried self-control, or is it just that you can't be bothered and would rather take a pill or a jab? 

Nutritionists and GPs I spoke to have also expressed concerns about the broader system, and in particular whether existing health inequalities could worsen. "We cannot allow good health to become a luxury for the wealthiest by limiting access to weight-loss drugs to those who can pay privately," argues Katharine Jenner, executive director of Obesity Health Alliance.

Isn't the Treasury on the hook for enough of the drug companies' moneyspinners, thanks to our profligate PM? 

Hint: Better Not Listen To Rap Music....

Former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy swapped 'misogynistic' messages with his 'friend and fixer' referring to young women who came to his parties as 'b******', it can be revealed today.

...if you consider this a 'revelation'.

The French World Cup winner exchanged the text messages with Louis Saha Matturie, 42, who has been now cleared of rape and sexual assault charges after a police investigation lasting almost three years. The messages were never produced to juries at three separate trials involving 28-year-old Mr Mendy and Mr Matturie over allegations of sex attacks at parties held in the millionaire footballer's £2.2million Cheshire mansion and at Mr Matturie's flat in Salford.

For good reason? Well… 

They were ruled inadmissible after defence lawyers successfully argued that they would be prejudicial.

At the time, Judge Everett said all 'right-thinking' people would disapprove of the messages, which did the defendants 'no credit.' But he stressed that the issue in the trial was not 'whether they had entrenched views about sex' but whether the women had consented to sex. As a result, he ruled that they should not be shown to the jury.

Looks like he was right. So little point in anyone getting their knickers in a twist over them now, surely? 

Integration? What Integration…?

Jurors were told the defendant was born in Somalia and moved to Kenya at the age of eight during the civil war in Somalia. She was 16 when she came to the UK and was later granted British citizenship. 

The defendant described what had been done to the girl as “Sunnah”, meaning “tradition” or “way” in Arabic, and said it was a practice that had gone on for cultural reasons for many years.

She's 39 years old. And it's as if she was still in her backward original country and not England....

Is This Really Such A Funny Story?

A drug dealer was arrested and charged after he called the police to report his drugs had been stolen during a break in, and even gave them a list of the nicked narcotics.

James Beaumont, 38, rang Thames Valley Police to report that someone had got into his house and stolen the drugs.

I mean, yes, ha ha, and all that. Dumb criminals. Hilarious, right? 

Defending, James Reilly said Beaumont did not accept that he had got others involved in selling his drugs for him. His client had been suffering badly with poor mental health at the time - and had complained of there being 'men hiding in the bushes'.

He added: 'All sorts of things can be said [by] the defendant. Whether any of those things did happen is an entirely different kettle of fish.

'If the Crown were saying he was [*] some high-level drug dealer involving other people, arming them, there isn't any reality in that.'

There's no reality in much of this story, actually, Mr Reilly. For instance... 

Asking for a pre-sentence report to be compiled by the probation service, Mr Reilly said Beaumont had no previous convictions and was currently working with addiction service Turning Point to address his past drug misuse.

Judge Ian Pringle KC adjourned sentencing for the prosecution to serve further evidence from a download of the defendant's phone, to help establish either way whether or not he was involving others in the supply of drugs.

Such a waste of time. Will he get a sentence that reflects his actual guilt? That's worth the cost of all this to the taxpayer? I doubt it. 

Can 'The Reputation Of The Profession' Get Worse?

A children's therapist who 'violently' slapped a vulnerable four-year-old boy '10 to 20 times' because he did not put his shoes on and pretended to be asleep has been ruled fit to work again after 'addressing his failings' and 'reflecting' on the assault.

Yes, it's this individual.

A Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) committee ruled: 'Mr Priess has taken steps [by] providing a reflective piece covering his insight, remorse and reflection on the impact of his actions on the reputation of the profession.

What about the impact on the victim - shouldn't that count for more? 

'The panel finds the (sic) Mr Preiss's fitness to practise is no longer impaired because he has addressed his failings, shown insight, and the public interest issues have been resolved.'

Shouldn't the public be asked that? 

They Are Deprived On Account Of They Are Depraved...

...to paraphrase from one of my favourite movies:

The BBC sports presenter Jason Mohammad has voiced anger at a lack of government help for the Ely estate in Cardiff where he grew up, 30 years after the so-called bread riots erupted in the area.

'Bread riots'..? Were people starving in Ely, then? 

Ely remains among the most deprived areas of Wales in terms of income, employment, health and education, according to the Welsh government, which classes part of the area as suffering among the worst “deep-rooted deprivation” in Wales.

Gosh! Who knew? 

“I feel angry that the Westminster government and the Senedd government haven’t addressed the needs of these people,” Mohammad said. “They’ve cried out for help for years. Sometimes I think no one has listened.”

How have they 'cried out for help', then? 

Mackay said: “It seems cool now to ride a bike around Ely and smash a window. People are filming it on social media and people are becoming famous on LADbible and some of these platforms … The behaviours and attitudes are still in the area.”

Ah. The same way all the other rioters in history have, it seems... 

Asked about Mohammad’s view, Drakeford said that Tony Blair’s government delivered “unprecedented levels of investment in community assets and new economic opportunities for young people”.

But they clearly prefer making arses of themselves to working for a living... 

Maybe You Should Look Up 'Intent' In A Dictionary, Your Honour...

Martine Snowdon, prosecuting at Liverpool Crown Court, said Walsh pleaded guilty to wounding without intent.

Oh..? And what did she do 'without purpose or determination' then? 

She said the incident took place on April 27 last year, when the victim went to visit Cheryl Morrison, who also lived in the same area as Walsh. Ms Caples went to Walsh's address after discovering a living room window had been damaged and Ms Snowdon said Walsh 'felt genuinely fearful for her safety'.

Another neighbour said they 'heard raised voices' and 'as an argument was taking place Walsh came out of her address with a white kettle in her hand'.

They said they heard Ms Walsh say 'watch out'. Ms Caples said she then 'felt boiling hot water hit the right side of her face and chest' which had sugar in it...

Wait, hang on...

Unless she habitually makes awful tea and coffee, there's clearly intent there in not only boiling the kettle but on putting sugar in it!

Naturally, the excuses come thick and fast:

John Rowan, defending, said Walsh is taking medication for manic depression and anxiety. Mr Rowan said when Walsh was 15 she was the victim of a stabbing which 'perhaps has a substantial effect on her mental health' and added she suffers from PTSD.

He said she has two young sons, aged two and seven, and added her eldest son is 'very close to her'. Mr Rowan said: 'In my submission there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in this case.'

He added she had a 'strong work ethic' (Ed: In Liverpool..?!) and said there would be a 'significant detrimental impact upon dependents'.

What judge could possibly think this excuses this act?  

The judge, Recorder Ian Unsworth, QC, sentencing, said it was not only a serious case which 'could have been far more serious' but 'also a very sad case'.

*sighs* 

The judge said it was 'not suggested this was premeditated or planned' and was 'clearly something done in the spur of the moment'.

It appears you need to look up a few more words. 

The judge said: 'I have been just about persuaded in this case your sentence of imprisonment can be suspended.'

Walsh was handed 18 months suspended for 20 months and ordered to complete 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirements and 150 hours of unpaid work.

It's beyond belief. 

The judge imposed a five year restraining order preventing Walsh from contacting her victim.

Why is this necessary if you're convinced that she won't do it again? 

There's More To Worry About Here Than The Physical Assault...

An occupational therapist who slapped a four-year-old boy with learning difficulties when he refused to put on his shoes and socks has avoided being struck off from his profession, a court has heard.

Ramon Priess, 34, struck the vulnerable child's face '10 to 20 times' after he pretended to be asleep at a session at the Maximum Potential clinic in Devonshire Place, central London, in April 2019.

The attack, which happened in front of the boy's mother, left the child with a 'reddened' right cheek.

I'd have thought the mother would have intervened. With the nearest heavy object! 

The mother witnessed the incident and spoke to the child's father later that evening, who then sent an email to Priess.

Sent an email!! What sort of family is this?

Priess responded: 'Apologies for what has happened today. This wasn't meant to hurt him at all. He complained over pain in his mouth just before as well.

'There is nothing I can do to justify what happened and I suppose it is probably best if [the child] stays with Maximum Potential and does not see me privately.

'The lines are blurring between my professional relationship/private friendship with [the mother] and [the child]. They feel like family to me and I handled it in a way I would with my nephews and nieces.'

Well, good grief, if that doesn't ring alarm bells, what does? 

In September 2019, Priess was charged with assault by beating but he left the UK in December 2019 and started work in a paediatric occupational health practice in Berlin, Germany. He was still working there in February this year.

Clearly, the Germans are quite sanguine about the prospects of employing a total wrong 'un in such a delicate and crucial role. But why should we be in the UK? 

He pleaded not guilty but was convicted following a trial at Westminster Magistrates Court in March 2020 and was handed a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months in June 2020.

You'd think that would be it, but no. 

...a conduct and competence committee of the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service has ruled he will only be suspended from the profession for six months, after hearing it was an 'isolated event' and that he had apologised.

All it takes is an apology? Seriously? 

'[Mr Priess] has insight, does appear to be willing to resolve matters, is unlikely to repeat the misconduct, and has apologised for his actions, which were an isolated event in his career.

'A Striking Off Order would be disproportionate in all the circumstances.'

It is unclear if the suspension will affect Priess' ability to practise abroad or if he will only be suspended in the UK, with the tribunal adding that it only 'might have an effect on his ability to work as an Occupational Therapist in Germany'.

Good grief! 

I'm Going To Let Gordon Handle This One...

Matt Hancock has pledged to improve access to GPs after family doctors complained they were being overwhelmed.

Doctors say they have been set an 'undoable' task by ministers, with pent-up demand from the pandemic creating a 'tsunami' of patients.

Gordon Ramsay Chef Ramsay GIF from Gordonramsay GIFs

The numbers visiting GPs increased by 20 per cent last month, according to analysis of NHS England figures by the Health Foundation.

Wait, despite this 'deadly pandemic' the population has increased by 20%..? Really? 

In the first year of the pandemic, 31million fewer GP appointments were carried out than normal... 

No, didn't think so! It's just the system reverting to normal, and the lazy bastards having to go back to working for a living!

...as patients put off seeing doctors over fears of catching Covid or burdening the NHS.

I'm pretty sure the majority of them didn't have a choice, as GPs closed up faster than speakeasy owners in 20s Chicago when Elliot Ness and his men hove into view... 

I Guess Rape Isn't A Problem Either, Then?

A 'Guardian' editorial on plans for ID to be required to vote advances an extraordinary argument:

The requirement to show photo ID in polling stations, which is expected to be introduced from 2023, looks very much like an attack on voting rights. Evidence of fraud, which the government claims is behind it, is minimal. Between 2010 and 2016, when there were two general elections and a referendum, there were just seven convictions.

Imagine if the paltry number of convictions were used to decry any other sort of social problem... 

Empty Words...

Following the hearing, Detective Inspector Joanna Reeves, from Lincolnshire Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: 'We carried out a full and thorough investigation into this collision.

'I know the family were very disappointed there wasn't a criminal prosecution and I hope the inquest has provided them with some answers.'

PC Rich Precious, Family Liaison Officer for Lincolnshire Police added: 'I've worked with Amelia's family since the day of this collision. I've seen at close quarters just how much Amelia was loved and how she is now deeply missed and by so many.

'The strength and patience demonstrated by Amelia's family has been astonishing throughout the different stages of the investigation and more recently at the inquest.

'I can't even begin to imagine their turmoil and how they have felt and coped, but they have been absolutely incredible and are a testament to themselves and to Amelia, showing just how much she was loved by them and by everyone who knew her.'

So despite all that, no charges were brought, because it was a totally unforeseeable freak accident? 

A two-day inquest into her tragic death in March 2018 heard that the vehicle, which was being driven by then 22-year-old Cameron Perkins, from Covenham St Bartholemew, was 'unroadworthy' due to a catalogue of faults. 

*sighs* 

But He Is 'Showing Compassion'...

Unison said it was "beyond belief that someone could show so little compassion".

...to the poor bloody taxpayer!

A local Councillor has refused to apologise after replying to a union email about school meals with the phrase "if you can't feed, don't breed".

Roger Taylor, independent councillor for Northowram and Shelf on Calderdale Council, sent the reply to a newsletter from the public services union Unison, which contained a request to help save the school meals service and referenced the campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford to tackle child food poverty.

Cllr Taylor, who was expelled from the Conservative party last year, said he is a supporter of school meals but he believes it is parents' responsibility to feed their children during the holidays and not that of the taxpayer.

Who thinks there's anything wrong with that attitude? Once, it would have been so utterly commonplace it wouldn't even be controversial... 

Congratz, NCA!

Jolly well done! Now, don't rest on your laurels, eh?

*taps foot* We're waiting...

"You've Only Got Yourself To Blame For That Rape, Love..."

A two-week police operation aimed at cutting smash-and-grab thefts from cars and vans in Bradford city centre uncovered almost 60 owners who were “asking for trouble.”

Operation Sawnhaven, which was backed by the Bradford Business Improvement District (BID) and City Centre Beat (CCB) – the city’s business crime reduction partnership – leafleted 2,140 vehicles warning the owners of the dangers of leaving valuables in sight.

PC Dan Stocks, who led the City Neighbourhood Police Team in the operation, said: “We found 59 vehicles with property left on display – that’s 59 potential crimes just waiting to happen.

“Vehicle owners who behave in this careless manner are just asking for trouble and they have only themselves to blame if they suffer loss and damage as a result of their inaction.”

"...I mean, there you were, in your low-cut top and short skirt. Just asking for it, weren't you? Run along now." 

Political Lessons...

Object lesson 1: 

Object lesson 2:

Goodness me! It's almost as if sticking to your principles and not flip-flopping around reacting to - and surrendering to - every crazy woke movement around actually resonates better with your base! 

Whodathunkit? 

They Come To Conquer, Not To Co-exist...

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Should Have Worn A Burkha, Chum...

...then they'd have had to let you in!

Fathers4Justice campaigner David Chick arrived at Brighton Magistrates Court yesterday dressed as a combination of Spider-Man and Superwoman.

The 53-year-old was not permitted to enter the courtroom while magistrate judge Tessa Szagun liaised with Chick’s defence solicitor Linda MacDonald.

The judge clearly hasn't had the required diversity training:

Judge Szagun said: “I would have given him the benefit of the doubt if it was for World Book Day but it’s not appropriate if he’s coming into the court as a protest.

“I think I have got to make a point to say that it’s not acceptable and he needs to remove the face paint if he wants to be dealt with in court today.

“I have got to make sure the dignity of the court is maintained and he’s not given an opportunity to make a mockery of that.”

Sweetie, the courts have no dignity any more. And if he'd declared himself 'transgender', you'd find yourself on the other end of the court to your usual seat for those comments...

Judge Szagun gave Chick the opportunity to remove his make-up, but he chose not to.

Is he an arse? Yes. But so's the law, for allowing one but not the other...

Judge Szagun adjourned the case until April 29 at 9.30am in Brighton Magistrates Court.

One to watch...