further to the crass debacle orchestrated by Crowther, Richardson & the Ukip NEC regarding the utter stupidity and ill considered libellous malice of Ukip’s MEP Jane Collins which I covered at:
CLICK HERE
From: UKIP Regional Chairman – London <walthamforest@ukip.org>
Date: 15 February 2018 at 19:20:17 WET
To: “myword_is_mybond@hotmail.com” <myword_is_mybond@hotmail.com> Subject: Two hundred thousand pounds !
Friends and others,
There’s bad news at the end of this email. And the timing is diabolical; even, suspicious.
Many of you will have been aware “we” (UKIP) were facing being forced to pay a substantial chunk of the defamation action costs (not damages) of Jane Collins MEP, over her alleged assertion that three local Labour MPs knew, in advance or at the time, about the ongoing child abuse in Rotherham, but did little or nothing about it to intervene or stop it.
If you don’t know about this, the (attached) High Court Approved Judgement from 54 weeks ago (Neutral Citation Number: [2017] EWHC 162 (QB) ) will provide the background you need.
I am not a lawyer but, in the late 1980s, my company and I were involved in not one but two unconnected actions for defamation. In one, as the potential plaintiff and the other – in respect of words written by someone else, published without my permission and which I did not endorse or agree with – as the defendant (I was worth suing, he wasn’t). I succeeded in both matters, out of Court – and I did not use a lawyer in either of them.
On the facts known to me (a small fraction of what there was to be known) about this present matter, I could not believe that we (UKIP) would not not be held liable.
The reasons are complicated, and it may be counter-productive for them to be aired here. As far as I could tell, UKIP was bang to rights and it was self-indulgent wishful thinking that we could escape by arguing that our objectives were principally philanthropic or charitable, and not self-serving as a political party with political objectives, however noble we believe them to be.
The number of people higher-up in UKIP who told me I was being alarmist, misguided or wrong is not funny. My questions were, however, not answered to my satisfaction.
Frankly, I’ve heard this “expert advice” twaddle all too often. The experts are often not independent or not experts, especially if even I know more than they do about what they claim to be expert at.
This is the main reason I refused to stand for election to the NEC, despite many telling me I should.
Had I been successful, I would have been a Director of UKIP Ltd (the limited company underlying our party) and so would have been privy to all sorts of information which I have not been (the only information to which I have been privy, to date, has been from public domain sources including the Electoral Commission and Companies House).
I fear what I might then have found out.
Had the company subsequently become insolvent, and furthermore (a huge leap here – hopefully this does not apply, and we have been as diligent as both law and common sense dictate we should have been) been found to have been trading while insolvent, as a Director or shadow Director I could have been potentially held liable personally. Arguably, more so than most or all who would then have been my co-Directors, because given both my professional background and subsequent experience, I could not plead financial ignorance or accounting naiveté without being guilty of perjury too. While almost all company Directors are not pursued in similar cases, us being UKIP, my guesswork (for guesswork is all it was, but so far my guesswork has been 100% correct) would have been that some of our Directors would be.
The case re our share of the liability was heard last week – Friday 9th February was the second day:
http://www.thelawpages.com/court-hearings-lists/high-court/529/date/2018-02-09/Royal-Courts-of-Justice-Cause-List
Royal Courts of Justice Cause List Court Listings 09/02/2018, Court Cases, Court Records, Court Details
http://www.thelawpages.com
Royal Courts of Justice Cause List date: 09/02/2018, Listings, Cases, hearings, UK
Well, and with exquisite “coincidental” timing, our share of the costs have been decided by the High Court a few minutes ago (in the afternoon of Thursday 15th February 2018), and it is an eye-watering £200,000:
http://www.rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk/news/view,ukip-ordered-to-pay-200k-of-mep-jane-collins-libel-bill_25637.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-5396221/Ukip-faces-costs-bill-MEP-defamation-case-linked-Rotherham-scandal.html
Ukip faces costs bill over MEP defamation case linked to Rotherham…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
The judge said the defamation case brought against Jane Collins would probably have been settled `quite swiftly´. This is devastating. I’ve no idea whether this decision is practicably appealable.
Shouldn’t heads roll for this – have we been misled, misguided or betrayed?
With ill-concealed fury,
Freddy
How right Freddy was and is – lets face it the legal opinions Ukip received were at best crass and at worst utterly crass if not corrupt!
One has merely to consider which idiots put a dullard like Jane Collins on a party list within striking distance of being an MEP what talent did she have or was this just someone of influence in the party who either was or fancied their chances of bedding her!
I for one never saw one iota of talent she brought to Ukip, but then aqgain that goes for almost everyone amongst the leadership and staff of Ukip!
One has to ask why Ukip did not distance themselves from an idiot who would so freely libel anyone from a public platform in Ukip’s name – even after the event how on earth did Ukip fail to get competent legal advice let alone listen to someone, anyone, who offered to commit the Party to direct involvement in Collins’ utter stupidity!
It is my opinion that Ukip and the directors of the Party’s Limited Company were exceedingly lucky not to be found jointly and severally liable for both the libel and the subsequent costs.
Limited liability does not absolve directors party to either a Civil or Criminal action and its consequences!
Probably the most astonising fact is that there is an EGM today and at least two individuals are squabbling over which of them will take on the mantle of leader to lead this disaster! Perhaps the fact that they actually wish to be embroilled and probably participate in the debts of Ukip tells you all you need to know of their co0mpetence, judgement and ability!
Greg Lance - Watkins (Greg_L-W)
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Ukip-vs-EUkip 