This is Hannah. My amazing, beautiful, STRONG stepdaughter.
I’ve taken on power. And what’s happened to me is result of that choice. But for some women - like Hannah - there’s no choice. This 🧵= little bit of how she was targeted, hacked, stalked. And came back stronger. 1/
Hannah was harassed over months & years. The Met police refused to take seriously. Refused to investigate. They finally did when they appeared to acknowledged there was a risk to life. Her stalker was stopped & detained at Heathrow. And then let go. 2/
In 2018, Hannah learned that her friend from school, Alice Ruggles, had also been stalked. She’d also reported it to the police. She’d also not been believed. And then she was murdered. 3/
What happened to Alice Ruggles is so horrific it almost led to a change in the law. @thedalstonyears helped lead a national campaign to protect women from stalkers. It failed. Everything failed. 4/
This is gorgeous Hannah. Who I’ve been lucky enough to know since she was 7. Who has been harassed & stalked & abused for most of her adult life. And who’s had no recourse to justice or relief. 5/
This is not ok. And here is Hannah so very very STRONG.
6:
I wanted to tell this story, because Hannah had to be her own cavalry. And she was. She came through it partly by channelling this experience into her work. These are the rings I wore in court. All made by her. She’s a jewellery designer - & founded & created Jean London.
Her first line was Hannah May London - which included the ‘dainty’ (her words) circle on right which I wore when I gave my TED talk. But post-stalker, she created Jean & now she makes these amazing ROCKS & literal KNUCKLEDUSTERS.
Anyway. I’m telling this story because her grace & strength showed me a way through my recent ordeal. Because no woman should have to go through what she did. Because the law needs to change. And because women helping women stand up to power is a lesson to live by.
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NEW: I'm seeking permission to appeal in the Supreme Court. There's no meaningful free expression in this country if after proving your speech is lawful, you're hit with £££ costs: a devastating ruling that will chill public interest journalism
by @_EmmaGH theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/m…
This was filed today in the Court of Appeal. If the Supreme Court rejects it, we believe there’s a strong case to take it to the European Court of Human Rights.
Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights puts an obligation on states to ensure freedom of expression. According to the ruling in this case, it's very far from free: even if you can prove your speech is lawful, it'll still cost you hundreds of thousands of pounds...
It's been a long time but v happy to be back in @ObserverUK today with 2 pieces, both close to my heart. And to launch a new project with @allthecitizens.
1/ An astonishing new claim that MI5 refused to investigate Russian spy's infiltration of Tory party theguardian.com/politics/2023/…
2/ Delighted to profile the fierce & brilliant @pevchikh for @ObsNewReview. If you've seen the Navalny doc, she's the woman sitting by Navalny's side as he calls one of his FSB poisoners & gets him to confess to Novichoking his underpants. theguardian.com/world/2023/jan…
3/ Finally, the story of how the Kremlin captured Britain. And how the UK government covered it up. If you've wondered why no British broadcaster has told the real story behind the Russia Report, please watch this & consider contributing.
My jaw hit the floor when I discovered Boris Johnson left an emergency NATO meeting after the Kremlin’s chemical warfare attack on Britain & flew to an off-the-books meeting with an ex-KGB spy.
In July 2019, Johnson had just been made PM. And @nickhopkinsnews published 2 extraordinary stories about Foreign Secretary Johnson flying from a NATO meeting to a party in Italy at the height of the Skripal crisis.
The party was at Evgeny Lebedev’s villa. The owner of Independent & Evening Standard.
Hopkins’s first story suggested he’d given his security detail the slip to fly to Italy. Then a Guardian reader supplied photos of him leaving: hungover & dishevelled 3/
Thank you to the judge, my stellar legal team & the 29,000 people who contributed to my legal defence fund. I literally couldn’t have done it without you 🙏🙏🙏
I haven't read the judgment yet but what I can say that the last 3 years have been extraordinarily difficult. Fighting this has been a crushing, debilitating, all-consuming experience that I sincerely hope no other journalist ever has to go through. 2/ judiciary.uk/judgments/bank…
The fact that his case was brought clearly shows how our libel laws favour the rich & powerful. I was only able to defend myself because of the incredibly generous support of the public. But this judgment is a huge victory for public interest journalism.
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