A breach of the Peace charge against anti-abuse campaigner Robert Green is to cost taxpayers upwards of £1/2 million pounds. A BREACH OF THE PEACE CHARGE which has resulted in THIRTEEN HEARINGS at Stonehaven Sheriff Court, 15,000 travel miles for the accused, trips by Grampian Police Officers to England to search & raid homes & seize property including computers & documents, Crown Office staff being flown into Aberdeen especially for the case, and a witness list which has varied in numbers and currently totals SIXTY ONE persons, has so far resulted in the anti-abuse campaigner Robert Green who represents Hollie Greig, (a downs syndrome victim alleged to have been abused by a paedophile ring based in Aberdeen), being told he is to face yet more hearings next week to determine the status of a Procurator Fiscal parachuted in to the court by the Crown Office directly to deal with the now TWENTY TWO MONTH long prosecution of Mr Green for a single breach of the peace, now thought to have cost the taxpayer upwards of HALF A MILLION POUNDS.Earlier this week, Stonehaven Sheriff Court heard from Mr Green’s legal counsel, Frances McMenamin QC who opened on Monday, stating her surprise at Procurator Fiscal Stephen McGowan representing the prosecution. This was due to the issue of the computer records provided by the Crown Office indicating that Mr McGowan may be liable to be called by the defence. He was asked by Ms McMenanin to recuse himself. PF McGowan refused and put to Sheriff Principal Bowen that the prospect was theoretical. The sheriff agreed with him and allowed him to continue until there was an adjournment soon after.
Upon the resumption of proceedings, Mr McGowan stood up holding a document, a citation calling him as a defence witness. He asked for an adjournment as he would have to reconsider his position. Sheriff Bowen said he was most displeased to be placed in this situation and had never before come across such an event in 45 years of legal experience. He granted the adjournment.
Former Lord Advocate now Dame Elish Angiolini employed Cayman Islands hopping lawyers from Glasgow. Reporting on the background of the case, Robert Green was arrested by Police on 12th February 2010 in relation to a breach of the peace alleged to have been committed in Aberdeen when Mr Green attempted to hand out leaflets regarding the anti-abuse campaign. It was also revealed the then Lord Advocate, now Dame Elish Angiolini had employed private law firm Levy McRae to serve interdicts on Mr Green in connection with his campaign to ‘out’ alleged abusers of downs syndrome victim Hollie Greig. Glasogw law firm Levy McRae who later represented shamed former Glasgow City Council Boss & Cocaine addict Steven Purcell, proceeded to threaten several media outlets & journalists over their reporting of the case, covered by Scottish Law Reporter HERE & HERE. The Purcell scandal caused some newspapers to ‘evaluate’ their relationship with Levy McRae, details of which were featured in a report here : HERE
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill worked at, has ties to same law firm used by then Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini in interdict case. As details of the case began to be reported in the wider press, it emerged the Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill had links to LEVY MCRAE, the law firm employed by the then Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini in legal action against Mr Green. Mr MacAskill has made no comment on the fact he served his apprenticeship at Levy McRae and also worked at the firm for a considerable time during his years as a solicitor before he entered politics, while he is thought to have backed Dame Angiolini in her actions at the time. The revelations were reported by Scottish Law Reporter at the time, HERE.
The Crown Office have consistently REFUSED to respond to Freedom of Information requests asking for details of how much public money was spent on legal representation for the then Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini. However, earlier today sources close to the Crown Office condemned the huge cost of the operation against Mr Green on the single breach of the peace charge, claiming the level of expenditure by multiple public bodies & law enforcement was unsustainable & unjustified for a simple breach of the peace.
Legal observers have speculated that former Lord Advocate now Dame Elish Angiolini will be appearing as a witness for the Crown given her role in bringing the interdicts against Mr Green when hearings finally get underway. However the Judge sitting in the case, Sheriff Principal Bowen has stated that he will no longer be involved in the trial once a new date is set.
When the next hearing takes place on Monday 21st November, it is to be held specifically to deal with Procurator Fiscal McGowan`s request to be allowed back to court to continue as prosecutor in the case.
14 comments:
corrupt corrupt corrupt
Look at it this way.
If they spent 1/2 million on every breach of the peace in court the country would be bankrupt in a week!
Clearly this guy Green is being targeted by the justice system as a revenge for the abuse case he raised.
It is clear for all to see that this is not an ordinary breach of the peace case.
This is probably the most infamous breach of the peace case in Scottish Legal History, as evidenced by the vindictive nature of the pursual of a person who was carrying out his civic duty.
There clearly is a desperation by the crown to punish Robert Green at any cost, in order that they prevent the wider public becoming aware of the implications of this case.
I would like to add two observations:
Prior to Robert Green's Counsel citing the Procurator Fiscal as a defence witness, the sheriff pronounced in court that no normal person informed about the case COULD call the Procurator Fiscal as a defence witness.
This was not a Decision by the Sheriff but rather an attempt by him to influence the Defence Team's strategy and their right to call the Procurator Fiscal as a witness.
The Sheriff in this instance can be questioned as to his impartiality.
Especially so then, as after Robert Green's defence team getting off to a flying start and opposing the wishes of the Procurator Fiscal and the Sheriff by citing the Procurator Fiscal as a defence witness, that the Defence team would then suddenly withdraw from acting in mysterious circumstances within hours of the citation.
This was doubly suspicious, as soon as the Defense team 'left the building' and were out of the way, the Procurator Fiscal was asking the Sheriff to be allowed back-on as the Prosecutor. (Excuse me, can you not see that your every move is being scrutinised?)
Another observation was that as soon as the Defence Team left the building, the alleged Sheriff pedophile was seen entering the court through a side entrance, which was odd, as by this time no crown witnesses were required?
Final observation was that after a call to the press regarding the breaking news happening in this case, a reporter from the Scottish Sun newspaper appeared towards the end of court time and was taking notes.
However, the Procurator Fiscal spoke to him before he left the court room and on leaving the court room the Sun Newspaper journalist said that there was no story here!
robert green is a hero to holly grieg and her mother the scotlands legal system may shut up robert green but his thousands of supporters all over the uk will not be shut up it will cost millions and more jails needed the scottish goverment and judial system is only scared to save there own back sides and those of the the scottish executive if the truth comes out then many big names will get sacked or will resign over the hooly grieg scandal so scotland get your act together and free robert green and launch a public enquiry in to this total madness of the public purse and unfair suffering to holly grieg and her family make those liars go to jail not the public for telling the truth and stop cover ups of child abuse google child stealing by the state the state is making millions for social workers stealing children in to care lets stop this now salmond its your watch sort this now
Good job ... Great fighter of the truth ... exposing the evil
Their secret is out, how they carry on in public office. They should be made to foot the bill for the money spent trying to keep their secret hidden.
AN INDEPENDANT SCOTLAND,with this mob running it !?
"The truth does not fear those that fear the truth"
Calling 61 witnesses will put the figure past the £1million mark for the standing joke of a botp
Interesting developments on Monday 21st November 2011 at Stonehaven Sheriff Court, where the Sheriff stated that Robert Green's former Senior Counsel Frances McMennamin had 'subverted' his 'order'. A totally false misrepresentation of the facts.
However, even more revealing than that, the legal aid certificate was transferred away from Frances McMennamin to a new Lawyer by the Scottish Legal Aid Board on the Thurday afternoon, immediately after the Hearing was adjourned by the Sheriff after this so called subversion.
This subversion of the Sheriff's order (even though this is untrue) reveals and implies that Robert Greens Senior Counsel was disciplined in the immediate aftermath of the Hearing being adjourned!
By having the timerity to ask the prosecuting Fiscal (Crown Agent) to recuse himself for erring by naming himself in his own productions has had the opposite effect, with Frances McMennamin having to recuse herself instead.
This raises the interesting legal question, whereby Robert Green has not been allowed the legal team of his own choosing, which is his fundamental legal right to do so, if the intention is to uphold the rule of law?
Interesting too that this disciplining and withdrawal of Robert Green's legal team coincided with the appearance at Stonehaven Sheriff Court by Sheriff Buchannan (one of the alledged abusers), through a side entrance, when no witnesses were required to be at the Court.
This is not the first faux pas in this case, with both prosecuters alledgedly lying already and clearly won't be the last.
It has taken considerable discipline from the public benches to refrain from bouts of laughter, so comical have events become, although the sheriff officer did have to admonish a few giggles at one point.
It would not seem inappropriate in this case if John Cleese were to walk in through one door doing his funny walk only to leave through another door.
It is that surreal!
Still, the case motors on towards the £1M pound mark and beyond and with the international newsmedia feed booked for the trial proper, it will be interesting to see who the witnesses will be and how they answer the inevitable difficult questions.
When the case does finally collapse and or Robert Green is totally vindicated, it will be interesting to see if and to whom and how many Robert Green pursues for damages for what I imagine would end up being tens of millions of pounds through the civil courts for preventing him from campaigning to become a member of the Scottish Parliament?
Notwithstanding the likely police interest in certain people who have acted unlawfully?
What about the Adrian Prout case, where he murdered his wife and hid her body on the family farm.
He had always denied murdering her but when challenged to take a lie detector examination to prove it, he accepted and failed it then admitted to police that he had murdered his wife afterall.
This may well be the key to resolving this issue.
The prosecution are adament that their witnesses characters are truthful and above reproach, hence the ruthless and determined breach of the peace prosecution of Robert Green, to make an example of him to the whole of the rest of society.
Presumeably too the prosecution's witnesses are similarly adament of their innocence and would be eager to prove their innocence and to remove any doubt there may be as to their character and would jump at the only scientific opportunity of proving their innocence/guilt, as it is now so long after the alledged crimes being committed against Hollie.
Further, it would be absurd for the crown not to seek the only scientific way of proving the witnesses innocence or guilt, since they themselves are implicated in not properly considering the allegations when put to them when other means of obtaining convictions were open to them.
For all the so called wisdom and intellect at the Crown Office, if they were motivated to function from first principals, to operate in the interests of justice to serve the public (as they are supposed to do) then they would have gathered in all of the alledged witnesses and arrived at a prosecutable decision or otherwise within one day!
Instead of that, How many Lawyers are getting their meal ticket out of this case?
Given the above simplified method to resolve this case. All those involved in the present shambles should be sacked for complete incompetence.
An observation:
Grampian police arrested Robert Green for breach of the peace and put him in custody.
As is normal in such circumstances, the accused when taken into custody has to empty his pockets of his belongings for 'safe-keeping' for them to be returned to him when he is released from custody.
However, Grampian police took Robert Green's keys from this 'safe-keeping' (this is theft) without his knowledge and consent and went down to his house in England (apparently with a Warrant but did not present this Warrant to anyone, or leave a copy of it there, did gain entry to his house and remove his belongings without his knowledge or consent. (House-breaking, burglary).
Thereafter, material taken from Robert Green's home have been presented in court by the crown as evidence in the breach of the peace charge.
This is prime facie evidence that the Crown are a party to stolen goods and are connected to the crimes committed, as they have not afforded Robert Green with an Inventory of what was taken, a copy for evidence purposes for the defence.
It may well be that a crime was committed by the state in that Robert Green was intentionally & falsley detained in order that the state could then have free unhindered access to Robert Green's computer files, so as to establish exactly what information he had compiled against the alleged abusers?
The Crown have taken an unbelievably high risk, as evidenced by their actions in their all out desparation to have Robert Green found guilty of Breach of the Peace.
Having risked their very soul, what happens when they fail?
This prosecution is starting to have all the hallmarks of a fit-up job.
Wasn't there serious concerns raised by a few QC's about the propriety of Sheriff Bowen a few years back.
Should he have recused himself from accepting such a politically sensitive case such as this, which everyone can see is ultimately going to end up before the Supreme Court of Appeal in England?
Take a look at the bigger picture and the Bible which tells us that the whole world is within the power of the wicked one.
Once you appreciate that reality,then everything else falls into place. At the moment, evil rules.
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