We all so need to hear a bit of good news and I just noticed the Canary are reporting that “Spitting Image” will be returning to our screens. They have a genuinely hapless Downing Street clown to parody now with his neurotic evil puppet master pulling the strings to keep the toxic Tory shambolic show on the road; I can’t wait. Then, discussing the Papers Sunday night, the topic of the PM saying that there was a “moral obligation” to get kids back to school elicited a sarcastic response from political commentator Tony Grew. Grew cracked me up when he said: “First of all, if Boris Johnson is giving lectures on morality, then Irony is literally dead. I mean there are alley cats with more morals than the Prime Minister; so I think he needs to find a bit of a different script!” He pointed out that this required preparation for socially distanced classrooms and he gave examples, “you need significantly more Teachers; you need significantly more floor space.” He offered suggestions for commandeering halls and theatres…
Grew commented that the Government, “according to this report,” was “about to launch a PR campaign…” there was a full-term pregnant silent pause before he added “…That’s nice for them, and you know it fits within the skill set of the people who work in Downing Street!” Grew has such a wonderful sarcastic, dry sense of humour that makes him a truly entertaining presenter and he was in top form Sunday night. He criticized the Johnson blame game strategy saying, “But trying to demonize the Unions and blame it on them isn’t really going to work, because parents are just as concerned about the health of their children as Teaching Unions are about the health of their members.” Look I really hope that every school can open in September… ” Honesty from the press bravo Grew. BBC News featured Boris Johnson filmed aiming a bow and arrow; sadly the Tories are really accomplished experts at ‘targeting’ and we have all felt the sting of their divisive weaponry: who will be vilified next to cover up the Covid shame?
But wait, this morning I discovered another delightful revelation within a BBC Online News Report with the enticing headline, “Coronavirus: Why I want to prosecute Dominic Cummings.” Yes! I cheered! It said that, “A law student hoping to bring a private prosecution of the PM’s top aide has been told there is enough evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction. Mahsa Taliefar, 25, from London, sought formal advice from senior criminal barristers over Dominic Cummings’ trips during lockdown. They say there is sufficient evidence in the public domain to prosecute for two breaches of the Coronavirus Health Protection Regulations 2020. Downing Street has not commented. Ms Taliefar says she has singled out Mr Cummings because he was involved in government meetings about the coronavirus and had influence in the regulations she believes he breached.”
The BBC say, “Advised by Waterfords Solicitors, she asked Benjamin Douglas-Jones QC of Paper Buildings and Nathaniel Rudolf of Bedford Row chambers to consider a range of potential offences related to Mr Cummings’ trips to Durham and later Barnard Castle soon after lockdown was imposed. They concluded that there was sufficient evidence to bring a prosecution over two breaches of Regulation 6, which came into force on 26 March, a day before Mr Cummings’ car journey to Durham.” It states that, “During the emergency, ‘no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse’ and then lists reasonable excuses such as shopping for groceries, accessing critical public services or caring for a vulnerable person.” If the ruling elite are allowed to redefine and manipulate the law due to their privilege then ordinary citizens must fight back to correct such injustices.
The BBC report that, “In the case of his car trips to Durham and later to Barnard Castle on 12 April, the explanations given by Mr Cummings did not on the face of it constitute a reasonable excuse under the regulations, the barristers advise. That view was supported by detailed government guidance that if you or any of your household have any of the main symptoms of the coronavirus then you must stay at home and self-isolate. Mr Cummings has said his wife had some coronavirus symptoms before they made the journey to County Durham, after which he said he developed symptoms himself. But he said he believes he had acted ‘reasonably’ and within the law by driving to a cottage on his parents’ farm when he realised the family would have been left without childcare in London if, like his wife, he had fallen ill. He said his sister and his nieces, who live on his parents’ land, had offered to look after his four-year-old son if necessary. He also said stories in the media had made his London home a ‘target’.”
According to the BBC, “the barristers argue this did not constitute a ‘reasonable excuse’ because, for example, Mr Cummings was not seeking ‘public services’ for his child. In regards to driving to Barnard Castle on 12 April, the barristers said: ‘Leaving the place where he was by now living, in Durham, to test his eyesight by driving a medium distance in a car to Barnard Castle to see if he could drive safely, would not, on this professional advice, amount to a reasonable excuse in law.’ The sanction for breaching the coronavirus regulations is potentially an unlimited fine.” This scandal not have blown up out of all proportion if Cummings had been fired or resigned, but he is desperate to cling to his privileged position, but he didn’t steal the Covert 2019 Rigged Election to see other people taking charge; there is a distinct possibility he might blow the whistle and bring down this corrupt Government.
The BBC elaborate on the question, “What is a private prosecution?” They explain that, “While criminal prosecutions are typically undertaken by the Crown Prosecution Service, it is long-established law that any citizen can bring a private criminal prosecution under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. The evidential test that has to be passed to bring a private criminal prosecution is the same as for a case brought by the Crown. Once a private prosecution is brought, the Crown Prosecution Service has the right to take over the case. The barristers approached the case using the same two-fold test used by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to decide whether to prosecute a criminal offence, testing first where there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and second whether a prosecution would be in the public interest.”
The BBC report that, “Driving hundreds of miles from the place where one is living is a significant breach… driving away from an intended destination to test one’s eyesight, when Dominic Cummings acknowledged there was a risk constituted a gratuitous and potentially dangerous breach of Regulation 6,” the barristers conclude. “It would be difficult to say that a prosecution was not in the public interest on the facts of the driving on either occasion,” Although this would have potentially posed a risk both to his young family, who came along for the joy ride and other drivers on the road. They add. The advice contrasts with the decision reached by Durham police, who examined evidence of offences under Regulation 6 following Mr Cumming’s press conference in the Downing Street rose garden on 25 May. They concluded there might have been a breach in the trip to Barnard Castle but decided not to prosecute because there had been “no apparent breach of social distancing.”
The BBC report that, “Mahsa Taliefar is crowdfunding the legal challenge while continuing to study law and working as a paralegal after graduating from Birkbeck College in the capital.” Well underway with £42,700 you can donate at GOFUNDME.” They say, “She is hoping to raise £300,000 to fund the full legal action – which could end up in a costly process known as judicial review. “A lot of emails and twitter messages I receive are mainly individuals telling me that they were not able to see their loved ones who passed away or at least attend their funerals due to the lockdown restrictions,” Ms Taliefar says, “So when they learnt that Dominic Cummings assumed it was ‘OK’ to travel 300 miles after suffering from suspected coronavirus and say it was due to childcare, he simply aggrieved all those who adhered to the lockdown. “I am usually a very active and outgoing person so the lockdown has been quite difficult to adapt to but I understood it was necessary as the laws were created to protect the public.”
The determined young woman said, “When a member of the government who was involved in the [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] meeting and had an influence in the Covid laws breaks those rules, he has actually undermined those laws and the government efforts in fighting the coronavirus.” The BBC say, “Ms Taliefar contrasts Mr Cummings’ treatment with the 17,000 “less wealthy and less connected citizens” who have been fined for offences under the coronavirus regulations. “Many people on social media feel as though the media has let it go, so it’s up to them to hold his feet to the fire,” she says. “They are simply demanding better treatment for this country.” They say, “Speaking to reporters at a news conference on 25 May, Mr Cummings refuted claims there was one rule for him and another for the public. ‘I don’t think I am so different and that there is one rule for me and one rule for other people,’ he said. He added: “I don’t regret what I did.”
This prosecution could mark a very important step in the right direction of getting rid of this dangerously toxic Tory Government. The other Legal battles ahead all need your support Jewish Voice for Labour are being sued to stop them from speaking up for the Palestinian rights. Press Gang are being sued by Ware’s gang, but they have a fighting fund of: £17.790. Corbyn doesn’t need to rely on Labour funds as his GOFUNDME page has over £330,000 in donations and Chris Williamson now has over £24,000 to fight EHRC. The people are fighting back to end this corruption and at a point where these Court cases exposes the truth we will be in a strong position to demand a full Investigation of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election so that we can force this corrupt and incompetent rabid far-right Tory Government out of office. Let’s start with the Dom; Cummings is the grenade, oust him and you pull the pin” DO NOT MOVE ON!