‘EBORN LEGAL REVIEW’ EDITED BY ANDREW EBORN
02 09 22
MICKY DOLENZ OF THE MONKEES SUES FBI
Micky Dolenz, the only surviving member of The Monkees, is suing FBI. The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1966 for a TV series of the same name. It was one of the most successful bands of the 1960s and sold more than 75 million records worldwide. As per the claim filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia “the individual members of the Monkees, both in their own right and as a group, were known to have associated with other musicians and individuals whose activities were monitored and/or investigated by the FBI to include, but not limited to: John Winston Lennon (and the three other Beatles as well) and Jimi Hendrix.”
Jimi Hendrix opened for The Monkees on a few occasions.
11 years ago a “heavily redacted” document from the FBI file on the band was released. That document quoted an informant at a 1967 concert “during the concert, subliminal messages were depicted on the screen which, in the opinion of [informant’s name redacted], constituted ‘left wing intervention of a political nature …These messages and pictures were flashed of riots, in Berkley, anti-U.S. messages on the war in Vietnam, racial riots in Selma, Alabama, and similar messages which had unfavorable response[s] from the audience.”
Micky Dolenz, the 77-year-old drummer, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request on 14th June 2022 to obtain the complete FBI file on the band together with any individual files on Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith and/or him.
The FBI is legally required to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request within 20 working days unless there are “unusual circumstance”. To date the FBI has failed to respond. Action has therefore been started to force the disclosure.
WILL THERE BE JUSTICE FOR PRINCESS DIANA 25 YEARS AFTER HER TRAGIC DEATH ?
The truth is finally starting to come out regarding the infamous 1995 Martin Bashir Panorama interview. The bombshell interview contained several revelations including the much publicised statement by Princess Diana that “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” referring to Prince Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles
The way the interview was obtained, however, was deceitful. The Dyson report published by BBC revealed that Martin Bashir had used fake documents to obtain access to the Princess. The report concluded that BBC fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparent.
The deceitful practices have resulted in various civil actions. Matt Weissler, the BBC graphic designer, who Martin Bashir commissioned to mock up fake bank statements, has received an apology and financial compensation. Substantial damages have been awarded to Princess Diana’s former private secretary, Patrick Jephson as well as to Martin Killick, the producer who was labelled as a trouble maker and forced off Panorama for trying to raise concerns. Martin Killick claimed “…the BBC management deliberately developed a false narrative to divert attention from the fact that its much lauded interview with Princess Diana had been obtained at best by dubious methods. “As a result, I believe this led to an institutional cover up and the deliberate character assassination of myself and my colleagues who had sought to speak the truth.”
Most recently it has been revealed that BBC is paying damages to the ex-nanny to Princes William and Harry over false claims made about her. Alexandra Pettifer formally known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke received an apology at the High Court over unfounded allegations she had an affair with Prince Charles resulting in a pregnancy which was aborted.
BBC director-general Tim Davie said the organization apologized “for the way in which Princess Diana was deceived and the subsequent impact on all their lives. Now we know about the shocking way that the interview was obtained, I have decided that the BBC will never show the program again; nor will we license it in whole or part to other broadcasters.”
In addition to the Civil actions, Charles Spencer, the younger brother of Diana, has questioned why the police have not prosecuted those involved “for what various senior lawyers have told me is clearly unlawful and criminal behaviour?” The Earl Spencer says that “all those responsible must be held to account”.
As Charles Spencer points out Princess Diana, went to her grave believing that her closest confidants were spying on her for her enemies “of all the ironies about Diana, perhaps the greatest was this: a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age.”
UKRAINE APPROVES DRAFT NEW MEDIA LAW TO REDUCE THE INFLUENCE OF PRIVATE INTERESTS AND INTRODUCE EQUAL REGULATORY CONDITIONS FOR ALL MEDIA
On June 23, 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate granting of candidate status to Ukraine for EU membership and the European Council granted Ukraine the status of a candidate for accession to the EU.
The Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada, has adopted a draft media law to implement the main requirements of the European directive including reducing the influence of private interference.
Regulation of all media is to be carried out by the independent National Council.
In addition, the draft law strengthens the protection of children as well as providing better access to information for people with disabilities. There are also clear restrictions on promoting the content and narratives of Russia, referred to as “the aggressor state”.
The wording of the draft law is to be submitted to the European Commission and any comments on the implementation of the provisions of the media directive will have to be taken into account before the second reading.
The final version is be approved by the end of 2022.
PAPERLESS CONVEYANCING TO BE THE NORM BY 2025
Announcing its latest strategy for end-to-end digital conveyancing, HM Land Registry suggests that paperless conveyancing will be the norm by 2025.
The Land Registry has invited the UK property sector ‘to work in partnership to create a simpler, paperless and transparent process for buying and selling property which will benefit homeowners across the country’. The Land Registry is encouraging the adoption of new technology such as digital identity verification and e-signatures – essential to the paperless process.
There will be a ‘significant investment’ to enable the end-to-end automation of up to 70% of all updates to the register by 2025.
As a result ‘automated applications will be completed within one day – many of them in seconds’
Chief Executive and Chief Land Registrar Simon Hayes points out: ‘the very high level of activity in the property market in recent times has underlined the urgency with which all players in the market need to work together to improve the system. With property transactions taking record time to complete, it is imperative that we work as partners to innovate and remove friction so that the process is as quick and painless as possible.”
RYAN GIGGS JURY DISMISSED AND GARY NEVILLE POTENTIAL CONTEMPT OF COURT
The Jury in the Ryan Giggs trial in Manchester has been dismissed after failing to reach a verdict on any of the 3 counts of domestic abuse.
In spite of deliberating for almost 23 hours following the 3 and a half week trial, the jury failed to reach even a majority verdict and has therefore been discharged.
Ryan Giggs, the 48 year old former Manchester Utd player and former Wales manager, was accused of controlling behaviour and 2 charges of assault for allegedly head-butting his ex-partner Kate Greville, 38, during a row at his home in November 2020 as well as allegedly
assaulting Kate Greville’s sister Emma, 26.
Ryan Giggs denies all charges.
The Crown Prosecution Service has a week to decide whether to pursue a retrial. If there is a retrial a new jury would be sworn in to hear the evidence.
Ryan Giggs has been released on bail until 7 September.
Any retrial will not take place until at least 5 June 2023, Judge Hilary Manley said.
The Juries Act 1974 requires at least 2 hours to pass between a jury retiring and a majority direction being given. The convention, however, is to allow at least 2 hours and 10 minutes to take into account the time it would take any jury to get from the courtroom to the jury room and back.
There should, however, be no pressure on a jury to reach a decision. For more complex cases more time will be allowed before a majority direction is given.
Where a majority direction has been given the permissible split depends on the number of jurors:
- 12 jurors – the majority verdict can be 11-1 or 10-2.
- 11 jurors – the majority verdict can only be 10-1.
- 10 jurors – the majority verdict can only be 9-1.
- 9 jurors – no majority verdict is permitted
If a jury cannot reach a verdict – either unanimously or by a permissible majority – and the judge feels that nothing would be achieved by continuing their deliberations the whole jury will be discharged.
In the meantime, former Manchester Utd and England footballer, Gary Neville has been referred to The Attorney General regarding a post he made on his Instagram account during the Ryan Giggs’ trial. Judge Hilary Manley pointed out “both the prosecution and defence agreed with me, in the absence of any comment from the jury, and given my clear direction, the trial could properly continue…however, given the author is a person with a high public profile, [the comment] could be seen to be an attempt to influence ongoing criminal proceedings and could be contempt of court.”
‘Contempt of court’ happens when someone risks unfairly influencing a court case. It may stop somebody from getting a fair trial and can affect a trial’s outcome. It is punishable by a prison sentence of up to 2 years, a fine or both.
Gary Neville denies the statement was made in relation to the trial of his former team mate.
FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS BILL – A LANDMARK PIECE OF LEGISLATION
In his speech at the Financial and Professional Services Dinner at Mansion House on 19 July Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi, set out the importance of the financial services sector to the UK economy, and the central role of the Financial Services and Markets Bill in delivering the government’s vision for “an open, green, and technologically advanced financial services sector that is globally competitive.”
The Chancellor pointed out that “central to all our plans is a financial and professional services sector that is thriving”.
The Financial Services and Markets Bill is designed to providethe tools needed to seize the opportunities of Brexit and create a “safer, better system for consumers”.
The Bill implements the outcomes of the Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review
Hundreds of pieces of retained EU law will be repealed. The Bill will maintain the UK’s position as an open and global financial hub, bolster the competitiveness of UK markets and promote the effective use of capital. It will also support the levelling up agenda, promote financial inclusion and consumer protection
UK financial regulation will be decided “in the United Kingdom, for the United Kingdom, by the UK’s expert, independent regulators”. In addition to financial stability and consumer protection, The FCA and PRA will also be given a new, secondary objective ie to facilitate growth and competitiveness thereby encouraging a greater focus on medium to longer-term productivity.
The Bill also includes new measures to increase the regulators’ accountability and relationships with Government and stakeholders.
The Chancellor announced that he is keeping an “open mind” about the government taking further powers to intervene in financial regulation, in the public interest.
The Bill also enables reform of Solvency II, which sets out regulatory requirements for insurance firms and groups, covering financial resources, governance and accountability, risk assessment and management, supervision, reporting and public disclosure.
UK insurers will be given more flexibility to invest in long-term assets like infrastructure…
The Bill increases the competitiveness of capital markets, allowing reform of the Prospectus Regime – as recommended by Lord Hill – and will take forward the outcomes of the Wholesale Capital Markets review, stripping away EU rules like the double volume cap and the share trading obligation.
The Bill harnesses the opportunities of innovative technologies in financial services and reinforces the UK’s position as a leading centre for technology as we safely adopt crypto assets.
It also enables regulators to require that victims of push payment scams are paid back.
The Bill delivers far-reaching reforms to financial regulation which will be delivered in partnership with industry.
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