Portia miscarriages web site suspended.
The Director
victims of miscarriages of justice. The site features many well written
and researched articles on current cases.
On 8th February 2000, Portia's web site was suspended, we are informed,
over a legal dispute concerning an article about Eddie Gilfoyle.
Portia URL: http://www.portia.org.uk
One of Gilfoyle's websites is no longer available at URL:
http://www.ncadc.demon.co.uk/eddie.html
Our feature on Gilfoyle is at URL:
http://scandals.org/trialanderror/gilfoyle.html
See also URL: http://www.appleonline.net/justiceuk/eddie/ed.html
Anyone know what the suspension is about?
--
The Director mailto:inju...@scandals.demon.co.uk
The Citizens Commission on Scandals in Justice
Website & PGP Key @ http://www.scandals.org
John Aidiniantz
no problem.
We have found UK ISP's such as Virtual Internet, Easynet, and others,
unreliable in their hosting.
We gave up on UK ISP's some time ago.
The Portia site was a sensible site - it may be experiencing hosting
problems.
--
Yours faithfully,
JOHN AIDINIANTZ
Assistant
http://www.back-pain.co.uk
The Director wrote in message ...
The Director
<john.ai...@btinternet.com> writes
>The Portia site was a sensible site - it may be experiencing hosting
>problems.
We've now confirmed that the site's suspension is due to a censorship
issue. There is a brief announcement to that effect on the Conviction
site at URL: http://sites.netscape.net/doorpost/
Apparently lawyers acting for the police objected to an article on Eddie
Gilfoyle'e case, which was recently referred back to the Court of Appeal
by the CCRC.
John Aidiniantz
commenting on the results of a trial if it is coming up for an appeal
hearing.
I can't think of the legal justification in closing a whole website -what
law would it be breaking?
--
Yours faithfully,
JOHN AIDINIANTZ
Assistant
http://www.back-pain.co.uk
The Director wrote in message ...
Michael Sullivan
<john.ai...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>I owuld think that here would need to be some restraint on publicly
>commenting on the results of a trial if it is coming up for an appeal
>hearing.
Why? ISTR Denning writing it was O.K. commenting on issues which
would be determined solely by judges, because judges never paid any
attention to the tabloids or other media and would therefore never be
influenced by them. It would therefore not be contempt or prejudicial
to comment upon such matters.
Michael Sullivan.
big ed
Talking of which, do you, or anyone else, know anything about John Wadham's:
Liberty-Human-Rights, record regarding victims of alleged miscarriages of
justice at the hands of the LCD?
>
>Anyone know what the suspension is about?
No, but I would think it is a precautionary measure pending the outcome of
the ongoing legal dispute
--
ed - mailto:b...@corruption.fsnet.co.uk
Why did Lord Irvine Shut Down this Website?
Find the Answer at http://corruption.faithweb.com
Richard Bristow
(thanks to Del Boy, Only Fools Passim)
The Director
<inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>Anyone know what the suspension is about?
Forwarded from mailto:DPSp...@aol.com
Re: Censorship of URL: http://www.portia.org.uk
Thank you folks for your emails and telephone calls. The delay in
answering is because I am snowed under with work at present. It doesn't
take much when you are a one man business to turn famine into feast.
Plus having lost my Portia email facilities I am having to learn to use
AOL. An account I had set up just to check that our site worked in their
browser. I am still under pressure and I must complete last month's
accounts. I need to pay the state the Valued Added Tax they are due by
the end of the month, so if you find I am still slow at replying to
emails, you will know why.
The story is thus:
On Tuesday 8th February I took the day off to visit Helen Stacey in
Bullwood Hall Prison. I am absolutely certain she is innocent and try to
visit as often as possible. A little after 9am on Wednesday 9th I
received a telephone call from the Service Provider who hosts our web
site. The spokesman asked me if I had realised that they had suspended
our site. I said no. He told me that in the post the previous day was a
threatening letter from Russell, Jones and Walker; lawyers acting for
The Police Federation. (For those outside the UK this is a trade union
for the police). They had started legal action against a TV company and
the program Trial and Error which featured the case of Eddie Gilfoyle.
(See http://www.scandals.org/trialanderror/gilfoyle.html )
This now makes it illegal in the UK to publicise the subject of this
action. Now we all know that Eddie's case has been the subject of a
separate investigation by a neighbouring police force to that that had
got him convicted. Discrepancies were found in the original
investigation and police officers were recommended for disciplinary
action. The Trial and Error program also found that Eddie's conviction
was unsafe. The Criminal Cases Review Commission last year also found
that Eddie's conviction is unsafe and has recommended that the case be
returned to The Court of Criminal Appeal. We were displaying the Eddie
Gilfoyle Campaign's story called "Eddie Gilfoyle is Innocent."
The letter from the lawyers demanded that this article be removed and a
full apology displayed. It carried threats as to what would happen if
they did not comply. The spokesman for the Internet Service Company said
that they were a small business of just 20 people, all, along with their
families were dependant on the income this provided. They could not
fight such a large, powerful organisation that had millions at their
disposal. Although they were sympathetic towards us he regretted that
they had made the decision to suspend the whole of our site.
The Eddie Gilfoyle family are livid and see the court action as just
another tactic to muddy the water and keep Eddie imprisoned.
I had paid for the space our site occupied on the Service Provider
computer until next September and I had also paid for
http://www.portia.org.uk (registered in my name) this is now being taken
up by the short notice that the ISP is displaying. However I don't want
to make things hard for them. If you are willing to fight for people who
have been wrongly imprisoned then you can not do anything to harm others
either. My aim is to find someone to host the site outside the UK who
will not be subject to UK laws. America has a Constitution which
guarantees them freedom unlike Britons, but maybe there are other
countries too that have a guarantee of free speech.
If the lawyers had sent the letter to me instead of the ISP I would have
been frightened too and of course the law would have been obeyed. The
article would have been removed and a short notice giving details why
would have replaced it, but by targeting the ISP they have achieved much
more. I asked for a copy of the letter to be faxed to me but the ISP was
too frightened to do that either.
This is British justice.
"First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not
a Jew.
Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was
not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I
was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for ME - and there was no-one left to speak out for me."
-(Pastor Martin Neumuller, a victim of the Nazis)
John Aidiniantz
--
Yours faithfully,
JOHN AIDINIANTZ
Assistant
http://www.back-pain.co.uk
Alan Thomas Harrison wrote in message <38AD2A...@brunel.ac.uk>...
The Director wrote:
>
> In article <L$LJqSA48...@scandals.demon.co.uk>, The Director
> <inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>
> visit as often as possible. A little after 9am on Wednesday 9th I
> received a telephone call from the Service Provider who hosts our web
> site. The spokesman asked me if I had realised that they had suspended
> our site. I said no. He told me that in the post the previous day was a
> threatening letter from Russell, Jones and Walker; lawyers acting for
> The Police Federation. (For those outside the UK this is a trade union
> for the police).
The Police Federation is NOT a trade union. Coppers have been explicitly
prohibited since the defeat of the police strike in 1919 from being
members of a union or going on strike. Much of its effort goes into
cases like this - defamation actions designed to stifle debate about
allegations of malpractice. The ISP has behaved in much the same way as
most local newspapers, fearing ruin by a potential action for
defamation. The Guardian did stand up against the the PF and won a
recent case.
> either. My aim is to find someone to host the site outside the UK who
> will not be subject to UK laws. America has a Constitution which
> guarantees them freedom unlike Britons, but maybe there are other
> countries too that have a guarantee of free speech.
Holland may be a good bet. Is the xs4all.nl ISP still around?
Alan Harrison
Bob Brenchley.
<john.ai...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>Yes - forget UK hosting companies - they're unreliable anyway.
What total utter rubbish.
--
Bob.
Looking forward to the start of the new millennium on January 1st
2001.
Bob Brenchley.
<inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>My aim is to find someone to host the site outside the UK who
>will not be subject to UK laws. America has a Constitution which
>guarantees them freedom unlike Britons, but maybe there are other
>countries too that have a guarantee of free speech.
You would not have much more luck with the American's either. The
right to free speech does not extend to making defamatory statements.
In many ways we have far more free speech than the USA.
>
>If the lawyers had sent the letter to me instead of the ISP I would have
>been frightened too and of course the law would have been obeyed. The
>article would have been removed and a short notice giving details why
>would have replaced it, but by targeting the ISP they have achieved much
>more. I asked for a copy of the letter to be faxed to me but the ISP was
>too frightened to do that either.
Can't understand why, it is affects you then you have a right to see
it.
>
>This is British justice.
No, it is common justice. Why is it that people always insult British
justice when it does not agree with them? There are ways of doing
things that would have kept you on the right side of the law - but no,
you have to step over the mark.
--
Bob.
The score was Hydrogen 2 and Oxygen 1 when the game was called
because of rain.
Alan Thomas Harrison
>
> No, it is common justice. Why is it that people always insult British
> justice when it does not agree with them? There are ways of doing
> things that would have kept you on the right side of the law - but no,
> you have to step over the mark.
But there is no evidence that the Portia site had in fact overstepped
the mark. All we know is that its ISP has been sufficiently worried by a
solicitors' letter to pull the site, and will not even allow the site's
producer to see the letter in order to determine what material is
ALLEGEDLY defamatory.
There is a long history of caution in the face of actual or threatened
action for defamation. The classic case is perhaps the unwillingness for
many years of WH Smith to stock "Private Eye" in case they got sued.
Threatened legal action by the Police Federation has prevented many
local newspapers from even mentioning allegations of police misconduct.
A particularly interesting example was the action in which a couple of
Tories sued the BBC and its source of information over the programme
"Maggie's Militant Tendency". The BBC settled the case with a grovelling
apology and payment of damages. The informant stood his ground, and the
Tories dropped their case against him. Since one of the two Tories, Neil
Hamilton, has recently been disgraced, the original allegations have
been erpeated in the press with no whiff of legal action.
Alan Harrison
ave...@thirdworld.uk
Brenchley.) wrote:
>On Thu, 17 Feb 2000 21:30:00 +0000, The Director
><inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>My aim is to find someone to host the site outside the UK who
>>will not be subject to UK laws. America has a Constitution which
>>guarantees them freedom unlike Britons, but maybe there are other
>>countries too that have a guarantee of free speech.
>
>You would not have much more luck with the American's either. The
>right to free speech does not extend to making defamatory statements.
>In many ways we have far more free speech than the USA.
Not when it comes to libel actions. In America, you must prove that
the claimed libel was both false _and_ malicious in order to win a
case. In both countries, however, it mostly takes a lot of money to
endure long enough to get into court; usually, whoever has the most
money wins.
In any case, it'd be a lot harder for UK cops to get an ISP in
America, especially at an existing mirror site, to take down the pages
in question. (For one thing, what American ISP is going to believe
that the UK cops have better lawyers than they do?)
>>This is British justice.
>
>No, it is common justice. Why is it that people always insult British
>justice when it does not agree with them? There are ways of doing
>things that would have kept you on the right side of the law - but no,
>you have to step over the mark.
And if someone in the US chooses to mirror their pages, they will be
on "the right side of the law". Why are you trying to intimidate them
into thinking they won't be?
--
Avedon
"Photons: Are they the tiny flashlights of God or just
irresponsible cosmic joyriders out for a good time and
everybody else can to go Heck?" -- Alan Moore
The Unsocial Worker
Bristow" <r...@qticmarlow.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>Why name the site after a car?
>(thanks to Del Boy, Only Fools Passim)
Well now, Judge Dredd, perhaps they should call it Mercedes.
After all, "mercedes" is Spanish for mercy, and that's what
Portia's famous speech was all about.
And while we're on the subject, why is there a "Master of the
Rolls" but no "Master of the Jag"?
-----
The Unsocial Worker
E-mail: unsocial.no...@england.com (leaving out the
obvious)
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
admin
site Cryptome.org, for an unlimited time period or until a reliable site is
arranged. E-mailed copies would be appreciated from anyone who archived the
material. Anonymity assured, or use an anonymous remailer. If needed, a
public key is available at: jya.com/jy-pk.htm. Thank you very much.
John Young
Cryptome
Paul C
<0804f420...@usw-ex0102-084.remarq.com>, The Unsocial Worker
wrote
>And while we're on the subject, why is there a "Master of the
>Rolls" but no "Master of the Jag"?
Because, as everybody knows, the term "Rolls" in this context is
nothing to do with cars. It is a reference to the (very expensive)
wallpaper.
Paul
--
email: meagai...@hotmail.com
Put out the fire to email me :-)
The Unsocial Worker
meagai...@hotmail.com (Paul C) wrote:
>On Tue, 22 Feb 2000 12:29:04 -0800, in <0804f420.b45929e3@usw-
ex0102-084.remarq.com>, The Unsocial Worker wrote
>
>>And while we're on the subject, why is there a "Master of the
>>Rolls" but no "Master of the Jag"?
>
>Because, as everybody knows, the term "Rolls" in this context is
>nothing to do with cars. It is a reference to the (very
>expensive) wallpaper.
Ah yes, of course. But I wonder if it refers to the rolls of
wallpaper or to the rolls of banknotes that were needed to pay
for the wallpaper?
JudgeMoks
JM
The Unsocial Worker <unsocial...@justicemail.com.invalid> wrote in
message news:32803f60...@usw-ex0102-084.remarq.com...
the_...@my-deja.com
meagai...@hotmail.com (Paul C) wrote:
> On Tue, 22 Feb 2000 12:29:04 -0800, in
> wrote
>
> >And while we're on the subject, why is there a "Master of the
> >Rolls" but no "Master of the Jag"?
>
> Because, as everybody knows, the term "Rolls" in this context is
> nothing to do with cars.
True, as the motor-car is known by all the cogniscenti as a "Royce".
> It is a reference to the (very expensive) wallpaper.
Are you sure it is neither culinary nor a reference to the cuckolding
of Donald Dewar?
--
+-------+
| Culex | "The Infamous Culex"
+-------+
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
The Director
<inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>In article <L$LJqSA48...@scandals.demon.co.uk>, The Director
><inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>>Anyone know what the suspension is about?
>Re: Censorship of URL: http://www.portia.org.uk
From: DPSp...@aol.com
Message-ID: <27.24f3c9...@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 15:45:07 EST
...the attached letter files...
Anybody that wants to display them on their sites, please go ahead and
do so. ...hopefully it will not be too long before [a new] Portia Site
is up and running again. You will all be invited then, to copy all or
anything you want.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
25 February 2000
Thomas P Watkins
Austrey
Atherstone
Warwickshire
Dear Mr Watkins
I am writing to inform you that, on 7 February 2000, I received a letter
from Russell Jones & Walker, who are solicitors representing Detective
Constable David Gregson.
The letter from Russell Jones & Walker claims that seriously defamatory
remarks concerning DC Gregson have been made on the portia.org.uk
website.
Under the Namecity terms of business, in the event that a dispute such
as this arises, Namecity is entitled, at its discretion and without
giving any reason, to withhold, suspend or cancel the domain name.
In order to minimise any liability for allegedly defamatory comments
attaching to this company I have suspended your website.
Under Clause 3.3 of the terms of business, you undertook not to post,
link to or transmit any material which is unlawful, threatening,
abusive, malicious, defamatory. or otherwise objectionable in any way.
Further, in the event of your breach of these terms or a claim being
brought against us by a third party you are liable to Namecity for any
costs or expenses arising from that breach.
Russell Jones & Walker have requested that Namecity reveals the name of
its client and their details so that they may contact you. In the event
that Namecity refuses to reveal these details it is advised by its
solicitors that Russell Jones & Walker are likely to succeed in seeking
a Court Order to force that disclosure. The expense of contesting such a
Court Order would be saved if you give your permission to me to disclose
your details.
If you do not feel able to consent and Namecity is forced to contest any
Court proceedings it would seek an indemnity as provided for in the
terms of business.
Namecity reserves all its rights.
I apologise for the legal nature of this letter, however, it is
essential that Namecity protect its own position.
Yours sincerely
Nic Jones
Director
Web Genie Internet Limited
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Austrey, Atherstone, Warwickshire.
Mr Nic Jones
WebGenie Internet Ltd
Sherwood House
Woollards Road
Ash Vale
Hampshire GU12
Saturday, 26th February 2000
The Police Federation - Russell, Jones and Walker.
Dear Nic,
Thank you for your letter received today. It would have helped if you
had put an address on it but fortunately a fax previously received had
the above address. I hope it is correct and this finds you. To the best
of my knowledge I have never received a copy of your terms of business.
I understand the domain name is mine; it is registered in my name. The
original hire of your services were done by phone as a result of an
advert in Internet Magazine.
I am sorry that you received the threatening letter from Russell, Jones
and Walker and I am sympathetic towards you. I realise that you are
using the URL and the site space to display a message. If Russell, Jones
and Walker were capable of looking at the web site, they were capable of
clicking on the links provided on the opening screen and complaining
directly to me. If they had clicked on the sponsor logo they would have
found my telephone number and could have contacted me that way. If they
had clicked on the book advertised on the opening screen that would have
brought up a page with the address, telephone number and email address
of Ken Norman the founder chairman of Portia. So why did they contact
you?
I have no objections to you releasing a copy of this letter to the
complainants.
There has been a lot of interest in what has happened by media and civil
rights groups; I have given your company name and telephone number to
two reporters that had heard and contacted me by telephone.
As you found out when you telephoned me the name DC Gregson meant
nothing, I was also unaware of any court action taken against a TV
company. Let me say here, we are not in the business of being outside
the law, that is not how to get changes made to our appalling justice
system which is what we are about. The article "Eddie Gilfoyle is
Innocent" is a replica of leaflets that have been given out by the
thousand in support of this man by The Eddie Gilfoyle Campaign. By
making enquiries I am told the passages you referred to in our
conversation were previously published in a magazine. It was assumed by
The Eddie Gilfoyle Campaign that the publishers for the magazine would
have checked the legality.
If you restore our site the article in question would be removed and a
short note displayed as to why, but if you feel unable to, I will not
press you. I share your anxiety.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Watkins
Member of The Portia Campaign - http://www.portia.org.uk
John Aidiniantz
Put the site on an American server (or any other server in the world) and
you'll have the stability you need for the Portia site.
Yours faithfully,
JOHN AIDINIANTZ
Assistant
The Director wrote in message ...
Pedt Scragg
>Yes - forget UK hosting companies - they're unreliable anyway.
>
'hosting companies' means 'ISP' in view of the previous references
in the thread that it is an ISP that pulled the plug on the site.
Your comments is cowpats anyway.
--
Pedt Scragg
http://signpost-design.co.uk/
Signpost Web Design, Wrecsam, North Wales
Alexander Baron
inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk "The Director" writes:
> 25 February 2000
>
> Thomas P Watkins
> Austrey
> Atherstone
> Warwickshire
>
> Dear Mr Watkins
>
> Re: http://www.portia.org.uk
>
> I am writing to inform you that, on 7 February 2000, I received a letter
> from Russell Jones & Walker, who are solicitors representing Detective
> Constable David Gregson.
>
> The letter from Russell Jones & Walker claims that seriously defamatory
> remarks concerning DC Gregson have been made on the portia.org.uk
> website.
Well, if the poster is going to make specific claims about this guy he
should put up or shut up. If they are allegations that can be proved.
--
nemo judex in causa sua
audi alteram partem
Bob Brenchley.
<john.ai...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>Don't waste your time with small ISP's in the UK.
>
>Put the site on an American server (or any other server in the world) and
>you'll have the stability you need for the Portia site.
>
>
>
>Yours faithfully,
>
>
>JOHN AIDINIANTZ
AH! So American servers are better? What total utter rubbish. There is
no potential difference in stability between a US or a UK server.
--
Bob.
If aliens are smart enough to travel through space, why do they
keep abducting the dumbest people on earth?
Simon
"Bob Brenchley." <B...@Format.Publications.ukf.net> wrote in message
news:38bbdb50...@news.virgin.net...
> >
> >Put the site on an American server (or any other server in the world) and
> >you'll have the stability you need for the Portia site.
> >
> >
> >
> >Yours faithfully,
> >
> >
> >JOHN AIDINIANTZ
>
> no potential difference in stability between a US or a UK server.
Nope but its less likely to be pulled
Simon
John Aidiniantz
sites were down almost every weekend...and we are still waiting for refunds
from Virtual Internet.
It was a total waste of time and money dealing with these companies. If you
want reliable hosting, go to ISP's in America who know what the internet is
all about.
To switch an .co.uk site eleswhere, you must fax a letter to Nominet UK
requesting that they make the transfer to the new hosting company. The UK
ISP's no longer have any control over moving .co.uk sites to overseas
hosting companies (thank god).
Our sites have never been down since we switched over to the US.
--
Yours faithfully,
JOHN AIDINIANTZ
Assistant
http://www.back-pain.co.uk
Simon wrote in message <89f24t$ou6$1...@supernews.com>...
"Bob Brenchley." <B...@Format.Publications.ukf.net> wrote in message
news:38bbdb50...@news.virgin.net...
> On Mon, 28 Feb 2000 10:32:24 -0000, "John Aidiniantz"
> <john.ai...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> >Don't waste your time with small ISP's in the UK.
> >
> >Put the site on an American server (or any other server in the world) and
> >you'll have the stability you need for the Portia site.
> >
> >
> >
> >Yours faithfully,
> >
> >
> >JOHN AIDINIANTZ
>
Zonkie
>
>On Mon, 28 Feb 2000 10:32:24 -0000, "John Aidiniantz"
><john.ai...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>Put the site on an American server (or any other server in the world) and
>>you'll have the stability you need for the Portia site.
>>
>>
>>
>>Yours faithfully,
>>
>>
>>JOHN AIDINIANTZ
>
>no potential difference in stability between a US or a UK server.
>
remains considerably cheaper over the UK.
Z.
Please remove my_pants when replying.
Alan Thomas Harrison
>
(citing earlier post)
> > The letter from Russell Jones & Walker claims that seriously defamatory
> > remarks concerning DC Gregson have been made on the portia.org.uk
> > website.
>
> Well, if the poster is going to make specific claims about this guy he
> should put up or shut up. If they are allegations that can be proved.
>
Unfortunately, in the absence of the Portia site we don't know whether
specific mention was made of DC Gregson's name or any allegations made
against him.
In several cases brought by the Police Federation, specific officers
were NOT identified, but individuals took the view that a particular cap
fitted, decided to wear it, and then sued for defamation on the basis
that they could be identified as the unnamed officer mentioned in
such-and-such a case. This was the position in the case successfully
defended by the Guardian, brought if I remember correctly, by officers
from Stoke Newington police station. The Guardian case was rare in
actually defending teh case; in many cases newspapers have given up at
the first sight of a letter from the PF's solicitors, and there is a
culture of extreme caution about reporting any allegation of police
malpractice.
Alan Harrison
Bob Brenchley.
<john.ai...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>We have tried Virtual Internet, Easynet, and a number of other UK isp's. Our
>sites were down almost every weekend...and we are still waiting for refunds
>from Virtual Internet.
Well only one of the server companies I've used have ever had any real
problems and that was only for a brief period when they were
overloaded by their own success.
>
>It was a total waste of time and money dealing with these companies. If you
>want reliable hosting, go to ISP's in America who know what the internet is
>all about.
Are you the complete idiot that the above statement makes you look?
The internet is a world wide thing and there is little if any real
difference which side of the Atlantic your site is hosted unless you
have a particular target audience. If the target audience is in the UK
then your site need to be on a UK server to get and give the best
service.
>
>To switch an .co.uk site eleswhere, you must fax a letter to Nominet UK
>requesting that they make the transfer to the new hosting company. The UK
>ISP's no longer have any control over moving .co.uk sites to overseas
>hosting companies (thank god).
>
>Our sites have never been down since we switched over to the US.
The you are very VERY lucky.
--
Bob.
After the government takes enough to balance the budget, the taxpayer
has the job of budgeting the balance.
Bob Brenchley.
(Zonkie) wrote:
>>AH! So American servers are better? What total utter rubbish. There is
>>no potential difference in stability between a US or a UK server.
>>
>There is on the other hand, a vast difference in cost. Hosting in the US
>remains considerably cheaper over the UK.
Only if you are not vat registered.
The Director
<inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>>Re: Censorship of URL: http://www.portia.org.uk
FWD Update - Source "Miscarriages of Justice UK"
Press Gazette, Thursday 3 March 2000
Police Federation attacked over last-minute libel writ
By Jessica Hodgson
The producer of Channel 4's Trial and Error has slammed the Police
Federation for its "reprehensible' tactics in "waiting until the last
possible moment" to issue a libel writ.
The Merseyside branch of the Federation is suing Channel 4 for a 1996
programme and the publication of transcripts on its web site.
Lawyers for the Federation have also targeted the "portia" web site,
which was set up to publicise alleged miscarriages of justice. by
writing to the Internet service provider with a threat to sue.
Trial and Error, produced by Just Television, reported on the case of
Eddie Gilfoyle, who was convicted in 1993 of the murder of his wife
Paula.
Following the screening of the Trial and Error programme, the Criminal
Cases Review Commission last year found the conviction to be unsafe and
the case has been referred to the court of appeal.
The Police Federation is bringing the action on behalf of a senior
detective, after the programme raised questions about the relevance of a
particular exhibit shown in the programme. Lawyers acting for the
Federation will claim that the programme undermines the reputation of
the detective.
Just TV's managing director, Steven Phelps, who co-produced the
programme, said that the Federation had waited until the last day of the
three year-and-four-month period during which a libel suit may be
issued.
*Waiting until the last possible moment is a reprehensible tactic,
designed to undermine the capacity of an independent TV producer to
mount a proper defence," he said.
Sources say that, due to the high turnover in the TV industry, most of
the staff who have the -ground work" on such independent programmes "I
have moved on.
Phelps claimed that threatening to sue the Internet space providers was
also "a tremendous assault on the sorts of civil liberties' expression
opportunities created by the world wide web".
Steve Fisher, chairman of the Merseyside branch of the Federation, said:
"One way or another, the Gilfoyle family and the media have put this
officer through the mill and he wants an opportunity for redress."
Sue Thackeray, a partner at Russell. Jones and Walker, who are acting
for the Police Federation, said: It's not our policy to conduct
proceedings through the media. But there are good reasons for the delay,
which will be part of the case."
<<oOo>>
Dave Bird
In<38AD2A...@brunel.ac.uk>, Alan Thomas Harrison writes:
>The Director wrote:
>> [alt.censorship, COPIED TO SOME EMAILS]
>>
>> In article <L$LJqSA48...@scandals.demon.co.uk>, The Director
>> <inju...@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>>
>> received a telephone call from the Service Provider who hosts our web
>> site. The spokesman asked me if I had realised that they had suspended
>> our site. I said no. He told me that in the post the previous day was a
>> threatening letter from Russell, Jones and Walker; lawyers acting for
>> The Police Federation. (For those outside the UK this is a trade union
>> for the police).
>
>The Police Federation is NOT a trade union.
OK, a staff association [without the power to strike].
>> either. My aim is to find someone to host the site outside the UK who
>> will not be subject to UK laws. America has a Constitution which
>> guarantees them freedom unlike Britons, but maybe there are other
>> countries too that have a guarantee of free speech.
>
>Holland may be a good bet. Is the xs4all.nl ISP still around?
Yes. There is a copy of the Gillfoyle material on http://blink.org.uk;
grab it while it's hot........
A meeting took place in Liverpool6 on Saturday 11th of about 20 people
including representatives from A.R.S / Campaign Against Censorship,
Justice for Hillsborough / M.O.J.O, Gillfoyle Campaign, etcetera.
Various measures were decided to continue publicising this,
and help campaigning groups get on the Net and defend against
censorship attacks.
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and<a href="http://www.xemu.demon.co.uk/clam/lynx/q0.html"></a>XemuSP4(:)
Dave Bird
<da...@xemu.demon.co.uk> writes:
>>Holland may be a good bet. Is the xs4all.nl ISP still around?
>
> Yes. There is a copy of the Gillfoyle material on http://blink.org.uk;
> grab it while it's hot........
If that doesn't work try:
http://www.blink.org.uk/campaign/portia.htm
Dave Bird
> including representatives from A.R.S / Campaign Against Censorship,
> Justice for Hillsborough / M.O.J.O, Gillfoyle Campaign, etcetera.
MEETING RE censorship of "PORTIA" [Miscarriages of Justice] website.
===================================================================
On 2000/feb/8th solicitors for the Police Federation threatened
"WebGenie" ISP into shutting down the Portia Trust website on
miscarriages of justice over pages on the case of Eddie Gillfolye,
whose sister Sue Caddick is campaigning for his release: appeal due
summer or autumn. It included material, from the police's own state-
ments and enquiries, which seem to suggest that a large piece of
evidence miraculously sprang into existence just when it was needed.
A "think-tank" of about 20 activists was held in Liverpool6 on Sat
Mar/11th to decide future strategy. Material on Gillfoyle and
censorship has been mirrored at Black Links news page
[http://www.blink.org.uk] run by the 1900 Trust. There is no
Complete mirror of Portia yet, though sites have been offered.
*** There will be a large public meeting with national speakers in
central Liverpool on Sat June/3rd; a similar campaign meeting last
year had 200 present ***
14:30. PAUL CADDICK [Gillfoyle campaign] outlined the facts. Publicity
had been the chief factor in getting justice for others falsely
imprisoned; attempts to silence campaigning were an extreme threat.
There had been great support by fax and email worldwide, and the Police
Fed may have bitten off more than they can chew. We need co-operation
between the more technical and more political sides of free-speech
activism, hence this meeting. TOM WATKINS [Portia website] outlined a
number of cases Portia Trust has been involved with.
DAVE BIRD [Campaign Against Censorship]: we must push ISPs (i) to
campaign more actively for a "neutral carrier" status; and(ii) behave
much less as the approving agents of censorship, though the sticking
point is we can't expect them to be sued for an author's work unless the
author shows willing and able to cover their liability.
WebGenie certainly deserve a kicking, and to be made to apologise.
We as users need to (i) help campaigning groups learn how to use the web
and fight off censorship, get (ii) take what action we can to spread and
mirror the information, protest to the censoring group, and fight back
so as to make censorship threats counter-productive: people have
fought legal cases themselves without money and made the attacker regret
hassling them [MacLibel] or with pro bono lawyers.
SHEILA COLEMAN [Hillsborough campaign] gave apologies Paddy Hill, and
outlined some progress in their case. Crimes are often also civil
wrongs, with a lower burden of proof. DAVID HUSBAND [Net articles
censored by Dorset CC]: the Net gives huge power to publish and
governments are terrified by it. You need control of your own domain
name, which costs as little as ukp12.00, so you can point it at a new
provider if forced to move. TOM: outlined some further details of how
the site was suspended. BILLY PYE [union activist] summed up the
practical direction and suggested a public meeting. Break 15:30.
16:00 PAUL summed up the way forward. The political side and the
meeting would be done by Gillfoyle campaign, the technical side
by Portia trust. Dates, speakers and arrangements were suggested.
16:30 END. Further info follows on public meeting nearer the date.
[this is a shortenned summary of the notes & recommendations I produced
for Paul in WinWord form].
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Further to what I wrote at the time, help to groups about to start out
on the Net would certainly include "you have a (reasonable, older)
computer, this is how to get it on the net" booklet preferably including
start-up CDs for a couple of services, one free one paid. Hopefully it
would also include how to set up encrypted mail and register your key.
The aim would be to get groups in a common field such as UK anti-
deportation or miscarriages of justice or related 3rd world dissidents
to team up: to get themselves a mailing-list from OneList, link their
pages in a WebRing, and take other steps such as circulating pages or
collections of pages on CD/DVD
I'm also interested if it's possible to do various automatic facilities
from people who have permanent (cable modem?) connections to look
regularly that material is still in place, send out alerts if not, etc.
These would need to work by trusted people registering their signing key
and sending signed instructions to the Bot. Any programming or CRYPTO
related help on this would be much appreciated.
CONTACT: GILLFOYLE
the eddie gillfoyle cpgn
5 heygarth drive
greasby wirral
merseyside L49 2PL
PORTIA
Dave Bird
______Re: Portia miscarriages web site suspended____________
newsgroups:uk.legal,uk.politics.crime,uk.politics.censorship,alt.uk.law,
alt.censorship,comp.org.eff.talk,alt.religion.scientology
In article<6i28NMBr...@xemu.demon.co.uk>, Dave Bird wrote:
>>> A little after 9am on Wednesday 9th I
>>> received a telephone call from the Service Provider who hosts our web
>>> site. The spokesman asked me if I had realised that they had suspended
>>> our site. I said no. He told me that in the post the previous day was a
>>> threatening letter from Russell, Jones and Walker; lawyers acting for
>>> The Police Federation. (For those outside the UK this is a trade union
>>> for the police).
>
> There is a copy of the Gillfoyle material on http://blink.org.uk;
> grab it while it's hot........
There will be a large public meeting in Liverpool in early June,
more follows........
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O | Who Drowned the Judge's Dog? | . . . . . . . '----. 0 | O
O | answers on *---|_______________ @__o0 | O
L |<a href="news:alt.religion.scientology"></a>_____________|/_______| L
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