The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is agog today as an inquest in Gibraltar outlines how fragile their relationships with the rest of the world really are. A hugely expensive KC-fuelled inquest into the resignation of the former Chief of Police in Gibraltar, Ian McGrail, will focus on the fractious relationship between Britain and Spain over the future of the British controlled “Rock”. A dispute that continues to this day.
Evidence will hear that the hapless McGrail – whose force was described as a mix between The Sweeney and Life on Mars – drew opprobrium from FCO careerist Nick Pyle as acting Governor, when the Royal Gibraltar Police Force smashed into an alleged smuggler’s boat in Spanish waters killing two men in 2020. Pyle was vastly concerned that this action, and a subsequent legal action by the dead men’s families, would affect the delicate post Brexit negotiations over Gibraltar and used it as an excuse to encourage McGrail from office.
Luckily for the FCO, help is at hand from leftie lawyers at Doughty Street Chambers whose young KC Ben Cooper is furthering McGrail’s “early retirement.” Which is odd. As batting for McGrail are two other Doughty Street Chambers briefs Adam Wagner and Caolifhionn Gallagher KC, who have racked up a combined £212,672 in bills so far. Whoever comes on top from the Doughty Street Chambers teams the FCO will be sweating.
Guido can reveal that following on from the Guardian’s apology, Dan Wootton has now also won an apology plus substantial damages from the Daily Mirror after they reprinted the subsequently discredited Byline Times allegations about him. The official Mirror apology reads:
An article headlined “Met Police launches probe into ‘Dan Wootton sex offences’ allegations” was published on our website on 2 October 2023 and removed later that day following a complaint from Dan Wootton. Last week, the Metropolitan police and Police Scotland said that they had concluded their investigations and are taking no further action. We accept that we were wrong to have published the article and apologise unreservedly to Mr Wootton for any upset the article may have caused. Mr Wootton has restated that the police inquiries have exonerated him of any criminal wrongdoing.
Mirror Group Newspapers are also paying substantial five-figure damages to Wootton. This means the country’s two biggest left-wing newspapers have apologised for following up the shoddy reporting of Byline Times. Byline Times are currently busy taking on JK Rowling and have yet to concede to Dan. Either Dan or JK could likely bankrupt the rag…
ISIS bride Shamima Begum’s hopes have been daeshed again as the Court of Appeal rules that the Home Secretary was entitled to reach the decision that she was dangerous – even if there had been evidence of trafficking. Begum’s lot may take this to the Supreme Court…
Tory MPs are reposting Sajid Javid’s statement from after the last ruling this time last year, which still applies:
“I welcome today’s court ruling, which has again upheld my decision to remove an individual’s citizenship on national security grounds. This is a complex case but Home Secretaries should have the power to prevent anyone entering our country who is assessed to pose a threat to it.“
CCHQ not missing ythe chance to highlight Starmer’s sympathies:
🚨 REMINDER: Keir Starmer doesn’t think Shamima Begum should have been stripped of her citizenship. pic.twitter.com/75F4lUGgQA
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) February 23, 2024
Another chapter closes in the now-five year saga…
Dan Wootton’s lawyers have sent a letter to Byline Times, its editor Peter Jukes, and the journalists Dan Evans and Tom Latchem, informing them that Dan will be going after them for a ruinously large sum in damages and costs. Despite the contentious Supreme Court ruling in ZXC v Bloomberg setting the precedent that on privacy grounds those under investigation ought not to be named until charged, Byline Times maliciously chose to name Dan for political reasons (having themselves been the ethically dubious complainant to the Metropolitan Police in the first place).
Having ignored the established legal protections in place for those accused of criminal offences in an attempt to destroy Dan’s reputation, Byline, Jukes, Evans and Latchem now face the potential consequences, including financial and reputational ruin, that may await them. Guido’s advice is to cut your losses…
Back in 2008, a leftie barrister working for Doughty Street Chambers led a team of lawyers to the ECHR in 2008 arguing that that Berlin’s prohibition of the now banned Hizb ut-Tahrir breached their rights to freedom of religion and expression. You guessed it, that lawyer was Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer…
Barristers are usually supposed to take the first case they’re offered under the “cab rank” rule. However, the rule doesn’t apply to “foreign work”. Sir Keir represented Hizb ut-Tahrir in an international case against the German government in Strasbourg. He voluntarily took up the case to defend the Islamic group that is now proscribed under the 2000 Terrorism Act…
Bob Stewart appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court today to plead not guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence. The allegation is that Bob told activist Sayed Ahmed to “go back to Bahrain” in a confrontation on December 14th. Bob is also alleged to have said “get stuffed” and told Syed he is “taking money off my country”. Bob also pled not guilty to an alternative count of “using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress” – relating to the same charge, without the racial element. A one-day trial has been fixed for November 3 rd.
