THE DISSOLUTION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM COMES A STEP CLOSER!

THE DISSOLUTION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM COMES A STEP CLOSER!

Although the “Mainstream Media” (AKA “Legacy Media”) newspapers and broadcasters, such as in the article below by Alan Cochrane, focus on the risk to the Union (of the UK) from Northern Ireland and Scotland, it may well be that the more important longer term “threat” to the Union will be from England and from English Nationalists.  As William Hague when he was the Leader of the “Conservative” Party said:-  “English nationalism is the worst of all nationalisms” for the future of the Union!

The constitutional position about Theresa May’s agreement, if she manages to get it through Parliament and ratified by all the relevant parts of the EU will be interesting, because, if that happens, with the majority Leave vote in England, of well over 15 million English people voting for Leave, can then only be satisfied by the dissolution of the United Kingdom!

From a legal and constitutionalist point of view this works because the dissolution of the UK as the contracting state means that the deal is dissolved too.  This was threatened against the Scottish Nationalists, in the run up to the Scottish Independence Referendum, when the then Commissioner Barosso pointed out that, if Scotland left the United Kingdom then (because the United Kingdom would be dissolved), Scotland would be a new State and therefore not an ‘Accession’ state and so not part of the EU. 

The EU is composed of “Member States”.  If a Member State is dissolved and ceases to exist, then the arrangements with the EU also cease to exist.  The EU is not a territorial entity, nor an entity of individual people, nor of peoples, it is an entity only of accession Member States.  This means that the general legal principles on dissolution or death of a participating entity in an agreement apply.  Generally that means that the agreement itself ceases to exist as well as the dissolved entity upon its dissolution (or death).

I explained this in my Blog article quite a few years ago.  Here is a link to that article >>> https://robintilbrook.blogspot.com/2012/12/england-to-be-free-of-eu-in-2014.html

The article below by Alan Cochrane is also interesting but is of course yet again looking at the Union from the Scottish perspective rather than from the point of view of English nationalists. 

In short I think Theresa May’s proposed deal may actually fill the sails of English nationalists and of English nationalism because our way of thinking will then be the only practical way of coming out of the EU. 

What do you think?  Here is Alan Cochrane’s article :-

Warring Tories have put a hurricane in the sail of the nationalists 

With the Conservative Party tearing itself and the government of Theresa May asunder last night, one of its hitherto more successful parts appeared to be also heading for the intensive care ward.

In a bitter, and unprecedented Cabinet-level war, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party accused resigning Brexiteer ministers of threatening to wreck the United Kingdom. In one of the most outspoken attacks one senior minister has ever launched against colleagues, former or otherwise, David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, described Dominic Raab and Esther McVey as “carpetbaggers”.

Just for good measure, he claimed that Mr Raab’s departure was more about a future leadership bid than the Brexit deal.

In their resignation letters, the former Brexit and Work and Pensions Secretaries had both cited the threat to the Union posed by the fact that special provisions were proposed for Northern Ireland in Mrs May’s withdrawal deal.

And there is little doubt that this escalation in insults reflected the fact that the Northern Ireland aspect of the deal has put immediate and intense pressure on Mr Mundell and, also to a lesser extent, Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader.

Their partnership has been largely responsible for the revival of the Conservatives north of the border – leaping from one MP to 13 at the last general election and forming the official opposition to the SNP at the Scottish Parliament.

However, significantly, at least in terms of their current embarrassment, both signed an open letter to the Prime Minister last month in which they threatened to resign if there was a “differentiated deal” agreed for Northern Ireland. And, no matter how you cut it, that is precisely what is contained in the deal Mrs May put to her Cabinet on Wednesday.

I have a great deal of sympathy with the view expressed in Scottish Tory circles that Mr Raab and Ms McVey used the threat to the Union as “cover” for their resignations. And I can also understand Mr Mundell’s intense irritation that many of the most ardent Brexiteers care little for the maintenance of the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Indeed, I can’t remember any of them making an appearance during the Scottish independence referendum campaign four years ago.

That’s neither here nor there now, however. No amount of name-calling and foot stamping will alter the plain fact that, by including a distinctive feature for Northern Ireland after Brexit in the deal, the Prime Minister has done two things: she’s delivered a major boost to the SNP, whose sole aim is the break-up of Britain, and she’s ignored the warnings she received from Mr Mundell and Ms Davidson.

In one of the great ironies of the situation, the nationalists claim that Scotland should be given a different deal from the rest of the UK but haven’t got it, whereas Northern Ireland is getting one but its majority party doesn’t want it. And yesterday First Minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed that Ulster’s special treatment would give it an unfair trading advantage over Scotland.

There is a hope within Scottish Conservative circles that Mrs May might yet be able to retrieve the situation by clarifying and playing down the differences in the deal for Northern Ireland. But given the furious reaction from DUP MPs yesterday, she has a mountain to climb in that direction.

Nevertheless, the Scottish Tories’ main problem is that threatening letter sent to the PM and signed by Mr Mundell and Ms Davidson. It was seen at the time, by some observers, as a silly piece of grandstanding and it has now come back to bite them – hard.

Ms Davidson is on maternity leave and, last night Mr Mundell said he was staying put, insisting that he would fight on for the maintenance of the UK, adding: “That’s what I’m focused on, not being the heart of some soap opera of resignations and I’m not going to be bounced into resigning by carpetbaggers.”

Notwithstanding his determination to fight on and his angry words about his now former colleagues, I’m sure that he wishes he hadn’t signed that letter. It’s boxed him in, good and proper.

REMEMBRANCE OF THE FALLEN MULTICULTURALISED

REMEMBRANCE OF THE FALLEN MULTICULTURALISED

The above picture is of a bronze memorial plaque in the grand domed Eighteenth Century Karlskirche in Vienna. The plaque is to the fallen of one of Imperial Austro-Hungary’s Dragoon Cavalry regiments.  The ringing epitaph is “Treu Bis in Den Tod” which means:- “Loyal even unto Death”. 

That loyalty was to the Hapsburg Emperors, Franz Joseph and Karl; the last two Emperors of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The Empire was dismembered as a result of one of many of those unwise decisions taken at the end of the First World War which fed into the causes of the Second World War.

Here in England the traditional Remembrance Day service included “O Valiant Hearts”, the words are here:-

O Valiant Hearts, who to your glory came
Through dust of conflict and through battle-flame,
Tranquil you lie, your knightly virtue proved,
Your memory hallowed in the Land you loved.

Proudly you gathered, rank on rank to war,
As who had heard God's message from afar;
All you had hoped for, all you had, you gave
To save Mankind - yourselves you scorned to save.

Splendid you passed, the great surrender made,
Into the light that nevermore shall fade;
Deep your contentment in that blest abode,
Who wait the last clear trumpet-call of God.

Long years ago, as earth lay dark and still
Rose a loud cry upon a lonely hill,
While in the frailty of our human clay
Christ, our Redeemer, passed the self-same way.

Still stands his cross from that dread hour to this
Like some bright star above the dark abyss;
Still through the veil the victor's pitying eyes
Look down to bless our lesser Calvaries.

These were his servants, in his steps they trod,
Following through death the martyr'd Son of God:
Victor he rose; victorious too shall rise
They who have drunk his cup of sacrifice.

O risen Lord, O shepherd of our dead,
Whose cross has bought them and whose staff has led-
In glorious hope their proud and sorrowing land
Commits her children to thy gracious hand.

So here we have encapsulated, both on the Austro-Hungarian side and on the British side, what the generation who had gone to War actually thought about the War that they had been involved in fighting in. 

By contrast those that are now in charge of political and cultural and media institutions that dominate our country, and those in other European countries, did not fight in either War.  Most have not served at all in their country’s forces.  In many cases they also played no role in the Cold War either (which followed the Second World War).  If they had done so I doubt that many of them would now dishonestly claim that the European Union had any role in preserving peace in Europe after the Second World War.  That role properly belongs to NATO and not the European Union at all. 

Indeed the first test of the European Union’s ability to keep the peace occurred in Yugoslavia where the European Union and, in particular, Germany triggered a vicious civil war by their unwise and undiplomatic behaviour.  Also armed Dutch “Peace Keeping” troops stood by whilst thousands of civilians were massacred at Srebrenica.  We are nevertheless now urged that what the European Union actually needs is its own armed forces!

At a more symbolic level there was a mixed German/British choral remembrance event in Westminster Hall recently, which the political editor of the Sun on Sunday, David Wooding, tweeted about saying how wonderful it was.  My email exchange with him went as follows:-

@DavidWooding

 Oct 31

““Mozart’s C minor Mass performed in Westminster Hall to mark the centenary of the 1918 Armistice. The Parliament Choir teamed up with the German Bundestag Choir and the Southbank Sinfonia.”

@RobinTilbrook

 Oct 31

Replying to @DavidWooding

“No 'Hymn of Hate' then?

We have all but a single hate,

 We love as one, we hate as one,

 We have one foe and one alone —  ENGLAND!"

@DavidWooding

 Oct 31

“This was a classical music concert, not a political rally.”

@RobinTilbrook

 Oct 31

“The 'Hymn of Hate' was part of the German First World War propaganda effort; rather a contrast to "It's a long way to Tipperary" don't you think?”

@DavidWooding

 Oct 31

“As I said, this was a performance of glorious music. You’re on the wrong thread here.”

As you can see he claims that I missed the point. Actually I think that my point was better than his!

Obviously a mixed choral event in Richard II’s great hall which has been at the very heart of English public life for over 600 years is a profoundly political statement.  It is very deliberately symbolising the "reconciliation" of the Nations and is therefore the very opposite of what those wars were about, in which our Fallen are supposed to be commemorated on Remembrance Sunday. 

I think that it is no coincidence that this event took place in a building which is now surrounded by all those well-entrenched Europhiles and Remainers in the British Political Establishment. 

It was no doubt also people like them who decided to give £100,000 worth of “Heritage Lottery Fund” money to a multi-culturalist organisation called “Diversity House” in Sittingbourne, Kent, which is trying to promote the lie that the First World War was fought with millions of black troops!

The subtext of this is the British Political Establishment is trying to downplay the role of the real people of the real nations who actually fought that War. 

It is true that some Indian troops were used from the British Imperial Indian Army.  They were used mostly against the Turks in the Ottoman Empire but some were used on the Western Front for a while but were withdrawn because they could not cope with the awful conditions and especially the cold. 

I think what is striking here is the anachronistic and inaccurate rewriting of history to make current political points.  We have seen this too in France where President Macron falsely claimed that the wars were caused by "Nationalism". 

Just consider that the historic fact was that the British Government entered both the First and the Second World War in pursuit of England’s traditional foreign policy.  That policy was to make sure that no one power dominated in Western Europe.  We had fought numerous wars to stop the French from doing so and the Spanish before them, but in the 20^th Century our wars were to stop the Germans from dominating in Western Europe.

The current British Political Establishment surrendered that policy and instead reinforced dominance of one power block over Western Europe.  That power block is the EU of which the most dominant Nation is Germany.  They have therefore put us in exactly the position that English Statesmen for centuries have tried to avoid, with a dominant power block right next to us on mainland Europe!

To anybody who is rationally applying Realpolitik in considering what England’s diplomatic position should be, I would say that the answer is blindingly obvious. 

We should revert to our traditional policy.  We should seek to make every effort to break up the European Union. We should not pursue Theresa May and her Government’s pure-blind policy of friendship with the European Union. 

The EU have never been our friends and are certainly not our friends now.  They are now more like enemies than friends.

There are plenty of Europeans however who would be happy to be friends with us if we were showing any real leadership. 

Whether it is possible for the British Political Establishment however to show any real leadership that is another question.  I do think Brexit has given us a clear and unequivocal answer, that is that they are quite incapable of leadership. The sooner the British Political Establishment are ejected and replaced with proper patriots the better!

BREXIT IS DAMAGING UK’S “STRENGTH AND DIVERSITY” CLAIMS WELSH “CONSERVATIVE” MP

BREXIT IS DAMAGING UK’S “STRENGTH AND DIVERSITY” CLAIMS WELSH “CONSERVATIVE” MP

The Remainer newspaper, The Times, recently published the opinion piece set out below written by the Remainer “Conservative” MP for Aberco, Mr Guto Bebb.  In his article he mourns the impact of Brexit on the Union of the United Kingdom and its “strength and diversity”.  As he says:- “As a Conservative, as a Unionist and someone who loves Wales and our place within the UK I am moved to ask if any of this is worth it?”

I would reply as an English Nationalist and as a Leaver that it is definitely worth it!  

Also I would muse aloud:- ‘hasn’t it long been said that the tears of the vanquished are the sweetest joy of victory?’

Here is Guto Bebb’s article:-

Brexit is a risk to the integrity of the UK

The UK’s success is founded on being a multi-national state where we pool sovereignty and share power while taking as many decisions at a local level as possible.

If that reminds you of the EU, it’s not accidental. People with different national histories, traditions and languages coming together to make a new history in common is a very British idea, indeed you could argue that it is the quintessential British idea.

As any Welshman knows the union that is the United Kingdom was not born easily — the magnificent castles that dominate the towns of North Wales were, after all, not built by a grateful populace to celebrate the English conquest.

Policy editor Oliver Wright and politics reporter Henry Zeffman help you understand the effects of the UK's decision to leave the European Union. 

However, while the history is challenging for many there can be no doubt that today’s UK is democratic to its core. There can now be no question of holding any constituent nation inside the UK if it wants to leave. It is therefore worth noting that before Brexit there was no sign that any majority anywhere supported quitting.

Brexit is putting everything at risk. Recent polling in Northern Ireland showed Brexit would see support for staying in the UK collapse from 52 per cent of the population to just 35 per cent, while support for a united Ireland rises from 39 per cent to 52 per cent.

As well as the damage to our country’s strength and diversity I worry that any attempt, even one based on a majority decision by the electorate, to take Northern Ireland out of the UK would risk a return to violence, mass migration and untold suffering.

It is also clear is that the UK shorn of Scotland would be a shadow of its former self, whether or not it contained Northern Ireland. The complex but often highly constructive relationship between England and Scotland made the UK what it is, something I recognise even though I see myself as a proud and patriotic Welshman.

In Scotland the figures on the impact of Brexit on the independence debate are a concern with a clear pattern. Support for independence rises and support for the UK falls with Brexit and that picture gets more depressing for unionists the harder the form of Brexit delivered becomes.

In a UK reduced to just England and Wales, my own nation’s desire to stay in what would be now a completely unbalanced state would surely become an issue. I can envisage no circumstances under our current constitutional framework where the people of Wales would support independence but it’s one thing to be a partner in a multi-national state of four nations. It’s quite another to be the junior partner in a two nation state where the other party is 18 times larger than you!

As a Conservative, as a unionist, and as someone who loves Wales and our place within the UK I am moved to ask if any of this is worth it? The EU is far from perfect. There is much that needs reforming but surely the unity and the balance of powers developed over the years within our United Kingdom is worth protecting? Surely we can agree that frustration about some rather silly directives often far too easily blamed on Brussels remains a flimsy reason for putting at risk a UK that has served all constituent parts well?

If the price of any of the above was the destruction of the United Kingdom then that is a price that a Conservative and unionists should deem to be far too high.

THE DECAY OF THE BRITISH STATE IS TERMINAL AND ITS REPLACEMENT IS OVERDUE!

THE DECAY OF THE BRITISH STATE IS TERMINAL AND ITS REPLACEMENT IS OVERDUE!

At the height of Empire, when the British State was thought by vast numbers of people across the planet to be the greatest and most powerful State on earth; Rudyard Kipling wrote his famous poem “Recessional” – the haunting words of which are:- 

“God of our fathers, known of old,

   Lord of our far-flung battle-line,

Beneath whose awful Hand we hold

   Dominion over palm and pine—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies;

   The Captains and the Kings depart:

Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,

   An humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called, our navies melt away;

   On dune and headland sinks the fire:

Lo, all our pomp of yesterday

   Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!

Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose

   Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe,

Such boastings as the Gentiles use,

   Or lesser breeds without the Law—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust

   In reeking tube and iron shard,

All valiant dust that builds on dust,

   And guarding, calls not Thee to guard,

For frantic boast and foolish word—

Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord!”

But who other than Kipling could have thought back then in 1897, that just a bit over a hundred and twenty years later the British State would have reached such a point where it seems to fail at everything it tries? 

We have got very used to hearing over the last two years, just how ineffectual the British Political Establishment has become that it cannot even get its act together to implement the EU Referendum result.  This is despite having made it crystal clear at the time from all sides of the debate that the referendum result would be implemented.  This really is not rocket science.  It is a clear demonstration of the further feebleness of the British Establishment’s Political culture. 

In everyday life we are also used to hearing other instances of just how bad the British State is at delivering on anything that it sets itself to.  Whether it be computerisation projects or even the MoD trying to bring the British Army back from Germany, but then finding that they had sold off so many of the bases that it is no longer possible!

The other day in my professional work as a solicitor I came across a little example of just how bad the administration of one of the most fundamental aspects of the basic institutions of the State has become, namely the Courts. 

It is worth remembering that the courts pre-date almost every aspect of the State’s functions, except for Defence.  The administration of the Courts is therefore far more fundamental to the running of the State than the Welfare system, the NHS, the Transport system, the Education system or any of the other things that the British Political Elite wants to talk about, however ineffectual their deliberations may be. 

I just thought I would share with you some of my woes in dealing with the Courts. 

I have been dealing with a case which was primarily dealt with at Edmonton County Court, but then there was an Appeal which went to the Central London County Court. 

The upshot was that the Assessment of the Costs of the case could theoretically either be assessed at Edmonton or at Central London County Court. I therefore wrote to both asking for them to let me know which.  Only Edmonton replied and even then after quite a long wait.  They said it was the Central London County Court. 

As the papers have to be taken in nowadays with a prior appointment, I then rang Central London County Court to arrange this and to which said that the papers should be taken into Edmonton. 

After some difficulty I managed to get through to Edmonton (who didn’t basically answer the phone!).  They said that it was Central London County Court. 

So I then rang Central London County Court again and they said it was definitely Edmonton.  I pointed out that both courts were now saying that it was the other Court and therefore I needed the Courts to resolve between them which Court the papers had to be handed into.

Central London County Court then issued a direction on the internet Court file. So finally, when I got back to Edmonton County Court, I got an appointment to hand in the papers. 

When I did so Edmonton County Court’s Clerks then moaned about the size of the file!

This particular small version of the Whitehall farce was anything unusual in dealing with the current British State.

The next part of the saga will be a long wait whilst we wait for the Court to actually deal with the Assessment.

This bit of incompetence is the result of typical Conservative ministerial actions, in this case by Chris Grayling.  Who, when he was the “Justice” Minister, not only did the usual “slash and burn” cuts of over 40% to the Civil Justice system, but also pushed ahead with asset stripping by selling off the historic court buildings in town centres. He coupled these actions with raising court fees by over 400%!  Despite the fact that before his intervention the Civil Justice system was actually making a profit for the State!  The results of his unwillingness to think about the consequences of his actions are that we now have a Civil Justice Court system whose administration is truly appalling. 

This of course is just another example of how bad the British State is at managing even its basic responsibilities.

This general incompetence is also partly because of the British Establishment’s addiction to political correctness.  People are no longer appointed within the British State because of their ability to do the job for the country and for taxpayers. They are appointed on the basis of Sovietesque, ethnic, sexuality, tick box “politically correct” tokenism.  So consequently it is no surprise that those appointed this way not only cannot do the job, but have no particular desire or incentive to do it properly.

Many of the key people within the State of course no longer really care to look after the interests of the country or our Nation and in many cases are actively against both the country and Nation. 

All this is symptomatic of the decay of the British State to the point now that it is not just past its “best before” date but well past its “use by” date!

In England we urgently need a rejuvenated State which is both dedicated to, and works efficiently to, promote the interests of England and of the English Nation!

This must be an English State which will confidently make a patriotic appeal for national unity and national pride and which stands against progressive tribalism, which has for too long sought to divide the country into grievance groups and to promote a narrative of shame. We need a State which will reject the decades of the British Establishment’s revisionist history and grievance ideology which have sought to undermine English national pride!

TOMMY ROBINSON’S PROSECUTION TO CONTINUE!

 

TOMMY ROBINSON’S PROSECUTION TO CONTINUE!

 Unfortunately my work commitments would not allow me to attend on Tuesday to support Tommy Robinson in what I thought likely to be his hour of trial.  

Had I however seen his witness statement, which I set out below, then I would have thought it likely that his case would not be tried on Tuesday because he clearly now is not going to plead guilty and is making statements of fact which the Court would want challenged in cross-examination. 

The Court’s evidence rule being that if it were not to be challenged in cross-examination, his statements of fact would have to have been accepted by the Court.  The referral by the Judge therefore to bring in the Attorney General (the State’s legal department), was not a decision that, in the long run, is definitely going to be in Tommy Robinson’s favour.  A more likely reading would appear to be that the Judge wants to see the truthfulness of Tommy Robinson’s witness statement to be challenged in Court. 

I have seen interviews with Tommy Robinson where he is saying that he doesn’t think it is right or consistent with previous practice for him to be sent to prison for Contempt of Court.  I agree with him that his treatment seems, on the face of it, to have been harsh.  It also comes on a long track record of improper official and police harassment.  This is someone who has shown great bravery in breaking the story of the many Pakistani Muslim child rape gangs operating in this country. This was disgracefully unchecked by many of the officials whose job it was to look after the public and/or the girls who were shamefully and appallingly mistreated.

However, from a legal point of view, Tommy’s problem is that he was serving a suspended jail sentence with a term of 6 months in the event that he was convicted again of Contempt of Court.  It follows therefore, as night follows day, that if he is reconvicted when his case comes back for trial he will be going back to prison.  The absolute legal minimum sentence for him, which applies automatically, is that his 6 month jail sentence is to be served. 

I think it unlikely however that any Judge convicting him of a second contempt, within the period of his first suspended prison sentence, wouldn’t give him further immediate custodial time to serve for the second offence. 

The maximum period for the second offence is 2 years imprisonment.  In my opinion, a further jail sentence is highly unlikely to approach this maximum, since this is by no means the most serious of contempts.  I would however have thought that the Court would perhaps want to assert its authority and at the same time not to provoke disorder in the way of demonstrations.  My guess would therefore be that Tommy would serve a few more weeks. 

In the meanwhile on Sunday an interesting article was published in the Sunday Times, a paper which has become less and less of  a “Journal of Record” and more and more openly propagandistic for the globalists, internationalist, British Political Establishment.

Personally I have also found it disappointing to see the author, Andrew Gilligan, slip into the rut of being a bog standard main-stream media journalist after his glory days attacking Blairs’ Iraq War “dodgy dossier”.  He does however have some interesting information in the article, which I am told is backed by those in the know!  What do you think?

Here is the Sunday Times article:-

Tommy Robinson’s ‘massive’ jail bonus: publicity

The far-right leader expects to be imprisoned this week for ‘telling the truth about Islam’. It should bring a big payday too

Andrew Gilligan

 

October 21 2018, 12:01am, The Sunday Times

The far-right figurehead who styles himself Tommy Robinson says he has sacked his lawyers and intends to get himself sent back to jail when he appears in court this week for a contempt hearing.

Former assistants to Robinson said he scooped a “massive payday” when he was jailed for contempt in May, earning huge public visibility and hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations. Robinson was jailed for 13 months after confronting and filming men of Pakistani origin outside a court, where they were on trial for their alleged parts in Britain’s biggest sex grooming gang.

On Friday it emerged that the men were among 20 convicted as members of a gang that subjected girls as young as 11 to an “inhuman” campaign of rape and sexual abuse in Huddersfield. The judge, Geoffrey Marson QC, said the footage, which Robinson live-streamed on Facebook, risked prejudicing the trial and jeopardised other cases against the gang.

It is believed that a return to prison would gain further money and attention for Robinson, 35, who was released on appeal in August pending the hearing on Tuesday. In May, Robinson admitted the contempt and apologised — but he now appears to have recanted.

In a video interview with PI News, an obscure German website, he said: “I sacked my solicitors because they tried to broker a deal where I apologise and I admit guilt, and then if I do that then I go home.

“And I said, I’m never going to do that. . . . They were working for the other side, that’s what I felt. This is a historic moment, and I want to speak and stand by my convictions. So I’m going to stand up in court and read a statement . . . that tells the truth about Islam . . . I’d rather go to jail for the next 25 years than accept guilt for telling the truth . . . I am going to lay the gauntlet down to the government. . . . When you read what I’m going to say in court, I’m calling all of them out . . . I know 100% I am going to jail.”

Robinson was speaking after receiving the “European patriot of the year” award at a conference in Bavaria organised by the hard-right magazine Compact. In his acceptance speech, he said: “German people for too long have lived in the guilt of Adolf Hitler. Do not live in the guilt of Angela Merkel.”

The conference, on September 29, brought together key figures on the European far right, including Lutz Bachmann, the founder of Pegida, Martin Sellner, from the Generation Identity movement, leaders of the Alternative for Germany party and a representative of the Italian leader, Matteo Salvini. Compact has been funded by the Kremlin-created Institute for Democracy and Co-operation.

A former assistant to Robinson, who had access to his Stripe online payment processing account, claimed it contained £2m after his jailing and appeal, thanks to a flood of donations, mostly small amounts. Another former assistant, Lucy Brown, told The Sunday Times in August that Robinson operated a “business” in which “your outrage, valid as it is, will be monetised as such”.

Robinson recently moved into a £950,000 house in an upmarket village in Bedfordshire. The detached, gated property has four bedrooms, a two- bedroom annexe and a double garage.

John Carson, of Carson Kaye, Robinson’s solicitor for the August appeal, refused to comment last night. The firm described Robinson as a client in a tweet two days before the German interview.

It is understood Robinson may have been referring not to Carson but to his barrister in the August appeal, Jeremy Dein QC, who has parted company with Robinson and did not represent him at a brief interim hearing last month.

Dein disputed he was sacked, saying he “withdrew for professional reasons”.

Robinson did not return messages asking for comment. In a video on his Facebook page on Friday, after the rape convictions were reported, he repeated that he would be “convicted on Tuesday”.

Here is the published text of Tommy Robinson’s Witness Statement:-

IN THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT IN THE MATTER OF THE CONTEMPT OF COURT ACT 1981

IN THE MATTER OF STEPHEN YAXLEY LENNON

WITNESS STATEMENT OF STEPHEN YAXLEY LENNON

I, Stephen Lennon, journalist, of an address known to the court and of Luton, will say as follows:

17.  I am the defendant in these contempt proceedings, and the Court has served me with two allegations of contempt against me. This is one more than I faced in the Crown Court at Leeds.

18. In relation to the first allegation, breaching the order of the court, which requires as I understand it an intention to interfere with the administration of justice, I would like to say this.

19. Firstly, I would like to assure the court that undermining the court’s authority or interfering with the administration of justice was never my intention. I believed I acted in good faith within the parameters of the section 4 reporting restriction in place. The information I provided was in the public domain, factual and relevant but did not provide any details of the trial proceedings other than what had already been reported previously and was readily available online. I rely on the documents in my bundle as examples of what had previously been reported.

20. When I arrived at Leeds Crown Court that morning I could not obtain any specific details of the reporting restriction order. I do not believe there is a website which holds such details, so I researched online and reviewed the reporting restriction guidelines provided. They state that the court should include details of reporting restrictions on the court listings both online and in court and also provide a notice on the door of the court. My solicitors have photographic evidence to show that the court did not follow these guidelines that day and had no details listed anywhere of a reporting restriction for that case. This is also in the bundle. The only time the notification about reporting restrictions was available was later that afternoon after the Court had convicted me and sent me to prison. Only then did the Court follow the guidelines and list a reporting restriction against the court listings for both the grooming case and my subsequent case.

21. After my previous experience with contempt of court in Canterbury I went out of my way to ensure I would not fall foul of the law again. I privately paid for training with one of London’s leading law firms, Kingsley Napley, to cover all details regarding contempt of court. There is documentation in relation to this in my bundle.

22. On that morning at Leeds Crown Court I had knowledge of the verdicts of the first phase of this grooming trial and many of the specific details discussed in court for this particular trial. I did not talk about these in my livestream on that day. I had understood based on my training that the specifics of the case and the verdicts were off limits for reporting restrictions.

23. Having been unable to obtain any details from the court on the conditions of the reporting restriction I decided to review the guidelines for reporting restrictions. On the Judiciary’s website there is a practical guide aimed at judges and the media on the statutory and common law principles that should be applied with regards to reporting restrictions. The paper was called ‘Reporting Restrictions in the Criminal Courts April 2015 (Revised May 2016)’. In this paper it stated that Courts have no power under s.4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 to prevent publication of material that is already in the public domain (see page 27 of this document).

24.I followed my training and this guidance to the letter. I did not divulge any of the previous case verdicts, did not detail any specifics mentioned in the trial, did not assume guilt and refrained from entering court property. I even asked the officer outside the court where the court boundaries were and that I was ok to film where I was to which he confirmed.

25. I also followed that guidance document issued on the Judiciary website informing me that I could only reference information that was already in the public domain. Every single thing I said that day was already in the public domain. I actually read charges and names of the defendants from a BBC article which to this day is still live on their website. I also made sure not to film anyone other than the defendants, I was calm and respectful throughout.

10.  It is my understanding that there is no individual in the last 60 years that has been sentenced to prison for a publication breach of a reporting order. It would appear to me that my punishment is exceptional. I would ask that I am treated in the same manner as every other journalist who has been charged with these allegations. The journalist Rod Liddle was writing for the Spectator magazine in relation to the Stephen Lawrence murder trial, and when he was sentenced for breaching the section 4 order, and risking prejudice to the trial, was given a fine. Journalists at the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror published highly prejudicial material on the trail of Levi Bellfield who abducted and murdered an 11-year-old child. This contempt of court led to the collapse of the entire case and discharge of the jury and robbed one of his victims of the chance for justice. The reporters in this instance were not prosecuted and instead their employers were found guilty of contempt and fined £10,000.

11. I have reviewed the transcripts from Leeds Crown Court where the Judge was discussing various reporting order breaches. The judge and the CPS discuss the fact that multiple news sources breached the very same order placed on my trial with some breaching both the reporting orders by mentioning the grooming trial as well as my arrest and prison term. Lizzie Dearden the home affairs correspondent at the Independent actually refused to remove the article when provided with the order stating that the effect of social media voids reporting restrictions, so she could not be held in contempt of court. The CPS and the judge agreed that these breaches of the order were a matter for the Attorney General to review.

14. When I was informed of the blanket order, I offered to delete my video immediately. Despite the multiple breaches of the order by different newspapers that weekend and the flat refusal of Lizzie Dearden to take her article down, not one of those journalists or the editors of those publications, were ever arrested or prosecuted for s.4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act.

15. According to the court transcript the newspaper breaches of the reporting order was a matter for the Attorney General. My case was not referred to the Attorney General for review and instead I was hauled into court immediately, refused my own choice of legal representation, prosecuted, and convicted in a matter of minutes in what the Court of Appeal regarded as a flawed trial. I was then imprisoned for over 2.5 months in solitary confinement until I won the appeal. I was held against my categorisation, moved to the highest Muslim population Cat C prison, subjected to mental torture and constant threats and abuse and had all of my rights removed in the interest of prison safety.

16. It is clear to me that my continued prosecution and heavy-handed tactics from the state is because of ‘who I am’ rather than ‘what I did’.

17. In relation to the second allegation, the strict liability allegation, I would like to say this.

18. It is only since my original trial that there has been an additional charge added suggesting that the contents of my livestream were prejudicial to this case. The case completed, the jury concluded, and the verdicts were given. I would like to state clearly that in the transcript from the original trial the judge discussed my video with Mr Wright QC, prosecution counsel. Having reviewed the content of my video Mr Wright stated in court: ‘here is nothing they could have seen that could in any way prejudice them against the defendants’. Judge Marson agreed on the record.

19. For this reason, (a) I cannot see why I should face two charges when the core of the allegation in front of Judge Marson was the breach of the section 4(2) order, other than because I am regarded as a political activist and the charges are motivated by my political activism, and (b) I do not accept that the material that was live streamed created either a real or substantial risk of prejudice to the Leeds proceedings. The prosecution counsel and the Judge both agreed on the court transcript that my livestream could not have prejudiced the jury.

20. Everything I reported that morning was fair and accurate and published in good faith within the constraints of the judiciary’s guidelines for the media.

21. I will address each point in the allegations drafted by the Advocate to the Court.

22. The first allegation is that I suggested the defendants were involved in wider criminal activity. This is not correct. I was referring to two reports, one on the radio and one in the Huddersfield Examiner which set out the allegations relating to the 29 individuals. I cannot find the original references but a similar report on the BBC relating to the allegations is in the defence bundle.

23. The second allegation is that stating that those of the same ethnicity and religion as the defendants were disproportionally likely to commit the crimes for which the defendants were being tried could prejudice the trial.

24. This statement is factually correct. The Quilliam foundation who are a Muslim run anti extremism think tank have produced a research paper looking at convictions of this type 1 street grooming from 2005 - 2017. This is in the defence bundle. They found that 84% of all convictions were south Asian with the significant majority of those being Pakistani Muslim. All of these victims were white children. 

25. Sajid Javid the Home Secretary himself announced on BBC news this year that in these types of street grooming trials the individuals convicted are from a disproportionately Pakistani background.

26. Nazir Afzal is the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service in the north west of England and a lead prosecutor on child sexual abuse and he also publicly stated on Channel 4 News that Asians and Pakistanis in particular are disproportionately involved in this type of street grooming. He also presented these facts in front of Parliament.

26.  I merely stated factual insight into the ethnicity and religious make up of perpetrators of these types of crimes. I repeated publicly available research papers from the Quilliam Organisation, testimony from the former head of Crown Prosecution Service in the Northwest and a statement from the Home Secretary himself all three of which are in fact Pakistani Muslims themselves.

27. I do not accept that reporting facts on the ethnicity or the make-up of particular offender groups could be categorised as contempt of court given the number of grooming gang trials currently in progress across the United Kingdom and the commentary on those facts which are widely discussed in the media.

28. The third allegation is that highlighting as significant the sexual references of the abuse that I had elicited from the defendants could prejudice the trial.

29.  I asked each of the defendants what their views were on their verdict they were expecting to hear that day. All 3 of them separately made aggressive vulgar sexual references or sexual threats against both my mother and my wife. I did not ask the defendants to comment on their views of my wife and mother, they did this out of the blue. Repeating what they actually said in the video has no relevance or prejudice on the trial itself.

30. The fourth allegation is that I made derogatory comments about the ethnic or religious backgrounds of the defendants.

31. I would like to point out I was not talking about the specific defendants on trial I was referring to reaction I had received by family and friends of previous convicted grooming gangs. By derogatory comments it appears to mean telling the truth that under Islamic law, the "age of consent" coincides with puberty. In Islam there is no set age for marriage. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad, who is said to serve as a role model for every Muslim, is reported by Sunni Hadith sources to have married Aisha when she was six or seven years old, with the marriage consummated when she was nine years old and he was 56 years old. The prosecution may not like to hear the truth but there is no way that sharing the truth and facts about a particular religion on social media can lead to prejudice on a trial. 

32. In relation to the fifth allegation, a number of the comments relied on were made by other people, and my comments related to grooming trials generally across the country rather than the particular case (e.g. the exchange at page 8 of the transcript of the livestream related to Rotherham, and Oxford). I made it clear throughout that the trial concerned allegations. 

33. The nature and number of these ongoing trials, prosecutions and investigations is highly alarming and I believe it is in the public’s interest to hear the details and know of the complexities and connections amongst the previous prosecutions. 

34. The future safety of vulnerable children at risk is my concern here not the perceived prejudice towards the defendants because of their ethnicity or religion. If 29 white Christian priests were on trial on such charges with reporting restrictions, I would feel exactly the same. 

35. When I initially went to report on the Canterbury trial I did so in what I felt was the public interest. The police had DNA evidence on all four of the now convicted child rapists, yet the decision was made to grant these individuals bail. They were still running the same take away shop and coming into contact with young school children. One of the defendants absconded to Afghanistan. With DNA evidence on each of the now convicted child rapists it was my belief that they should have been remanded to prison until trial in order to protect vulnerable children in the surrounding area. Instead the decision was made to release them back into the community on bail.

36. The same danger was placed on the children in case in question. The now convicted child gang rapists on trial in Leeds that day were also free to walk the streets on bail. There were 18 different witness statements detailing the rape and torture of those children and yet the justice system decided that they did not pose a risk to the public and granted them bail. 

37. Just like the Canterbury case one of these child rapists in the Leeds trial on also absconded before his verdict was reached. I believe he has fled to Pakistan and according to the court transcripts he was last seen leaving his house with a large bag. That is a convicted child rapist free to roam the streets because he was deemed no risk to the public and granted bail. 

38. I have previously been charged with a non-violent offence, and I was remanded straight to prison to await trial. At Leeds Crown Court in May this year, the police whisked me from the streets, I was subjected to a fundamentally flawed trial and then sent straight to prison inside 5 hours. This is all whilst the very same system allows alleged child rapists with multiple prosecution witness statements and DNA evidence implicating them in the crime to continue to walk the streets. 

39. The court has a duty to the victims and the public to protect them and telling them could help stop ongoing child sexual exploitation and maybe prevent future vulnerable children from falling victim to it.             
  
40. Again I would like to reiterate that undermining the judge, the court, the proceedings, the supremacy of the law or the administration of justice was never my intention, but I truly believe the reporting restrictions on this trial and subsequent connected trials are detrimental to the public and should never have been imposed so the public could hear the details, and use the knowledge of the proceedings to help prevent further cases such as these coming before the courts. 

41. The jurors are given a responsibility. They are aware of the consequences of researching the cases they sit on. It should be upon them and we should trust them to do the task with honesty and integrity; it should not be for the public to be kept purposely in the dark just in case they do not.
 

Dated this 22^nd day of October 2018  _

______________________

Stephen Lennon

Here is a link to the original>>> https://www.scribd.com/document/391403703/Tommy-Robinson-s-witness-statement#fullscreen&from_embed