#TheCriminalBar facing oblivion @MaxJLHardy wrote perceptively that the public would get a distorted impression of our justice system because of the #WAGATHA trial. #criminaljustice is in crisis. And @jimrobottom suggested the same for the mass of civil litigation. 1/ The Tabloids don’t want to run this narrative. Clichés work. People, without wealth or financial resilience are far more likely to get dragged into a Criminal Court, a Family Court, or an Employment Tribunal.

#Colston4 there’s been much criticism of the verdict in this case. Frankly the verdict was unsurprising, even if against the weight of the evidence. Why? Because the harrowing impact of the expert evidence given by the historian David Olusoga provided cogent ammo to the defence In this respect, a full measure of respect should be accorded to HHJ Peter Blair QC, The Recorder of Bristol. I don’t know him but he must be a wise & humane tribunal - perfect for the #Colston4

@BarCouncilChair I wish Mark all the best at the start of his tenure. He will need fortitude & resolution. Tact & diplomacy has accomplished very little in the past. The objective is to save the #CriminalBar. That can’t be done unless we remain unified with #CriminalSolicitors We must never cut any deal at their expense, & we must stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Any Chair of The Bar or #CBA will be judged harshly if they do not screw their courage to the sticking place. Yes, the ironic source of that quotation is known to me.

I am humbled by the interest in my previous thread, and thank everyone for their responses. One who replied to me referred to a vulnerable adult on release from prison being left with nowhere to go, cast onto the streets. He ended up living in a tent, illegally pitched in a park. It raises a profound problem. It also reminded me of a tragedy befalling two men.

I submitted to a judge in Reading earlier this year that conditions in British Prisons were worse than as documented by Michael Ignatieff within Pentonville in the 1840s. This country is becoming ever more heartless - fuelled by tabloids who demonise those who have been deprived of liberty in our name.

Congratulations to Adrian Darbishire QC & Mark Aldred of my former chambers for an important success today in SFO v Akle. At the time of his wrongful conviction
the SFO Director, Lisa Osofsky, said that the conviction “sends a clear message that the United Kingdom and the SFO will not tolerate criminal activity that undermines the fairness and integrity of international business.”

The #Nationalist and anti-immigration agenda that drove #LeaveEU will face many (at least to them) unpleasant surprises in decades to come. If we are to trade with nations from all over the globe we must expect to relax immigration controls. I have no problem with that. It reveals the abject incoherence in the #LeaveEU cohorts. Free traders, who advocate rigid borders on immigration (some motivated by aversion to diversity or race) are living in a dream world.

I’m not a bad loser, anymore than #Farage was. The vote markedby the 52% was never coherent. #Brexit was never defined. Most Brexiteers in 2015 espoused retained membership of EEA/Customs Union, Single Market. They couldn’t all be lying. But post 2016 strife polarised positions. You can do anything for a day. Many days accumulated may lead to a reversal, who knows? Now, however, to the immediate future. Despite the rhetoric of Britain’s future, so much of #Brexit dwelt on our imperial past.

The Government’s position on #Erasmus post #BrexitDeal is profoundly damaging to future relations. Such a lack of generosity shows Johnson to be mechanically transactional. It’s that base - the Government don’t want to educate Europeans, as more travel to UK than vice versa. Unfortunately, the EU missed an opportunity to act with true grandeur and magnanimity by allowing gratis participation by British students - NI students not affected owing to different status.

The rejection of #Erasmus is not a sign of a confident, outward looking UK. Hindering the exposure of our exceptional youth to the myriad scientific & cultural benefits of Europe smacks of fear. The pull of #Europe’s gravity is strong. #Johnson by such vandalism knows it. #Shame The exclusion of the UK from #Europol and #Eurojust affects our present, as much as the refusal to join #Erasmus blights our youths’ future.

In the 1790s an authoritarian Government led by Pitt the Younger brought a series of treason trials against radicals who were accused of ‘Jacobinism’. Mild mannered individuals faced a grisly public execution. Some defended themselves ably and well, but for the majority their deliverance depended on Thomas Erskine and his junior, Vicary Gibbs.

#Christmas I once met a man who’d killed someone, when he was still very young. He wasn’t released from prison until he was in his fifties, many years beyond his tariff. The problem was, prison exacerbated his anger. He was, it seemed, a hopeless case. Parole hearings came and went, and he was adjudged to be a danger

The Bar is a very generous place. A few weeks ago I came to be in a case, pro bono. My junior had no ego. It was a case of some considerable legal importance, raising huge issues of principle. He is a superb lawyer, and a powerful advocate, yet he warmly welcomed me. Then I contacted another junior, who has a towering reputation in this recondite area of law. He joined our team, pro bono, with alacrity. We all worked as a team. We supported each other, and discussed contentious issues re strategy with mutual respect.

I was in CACD the other day. The usual. What seemed a pretty obvious and just outcome, almost became a Swiftian nightmare - in which ‘words [ were ]multiplied for the purpose, that white is black, and black is white.’ (Thread) Eventually, after profound attrition, my team prevailed. I couldn’t have done it without #RichardBentwood and #GregCallus, and also #RaymondShaw