As Dave wrote a few days ago, George Galloway is on a bit of a legal fishing expedition on Twitter. His lawyer(s) are sending frightening, intimidating demand letters to anyone who even casually re-tweeted an accusation that George Galloway is an antisemite.
So who are the lawyers working for George on this case? All the letters come from a firm called Chambers Solicitors based, unsurprisingly, in George’s home constituency of Bradford. It should be pointed out that Bradford is a city with a high proportion of Muslims and it’s the city Galloway tried to ban Israelis from visiting. Leading to much mirth as Israelis visited and took pictures at Bradford’s various “landmarks” with their passports.
When the good folk at Chambers Solicitors aren’t sending out possibly rule breaking demands for immediate payment of fees from unsuspecting twitter users, what else do they do? Well their website paints an illuminating picture of the kinds of legal problems they help their other clients with.
In the (rather large and detailed) list of serious crime and fraud we have such delightful areas of expertise as Murder, Death by dangerous driving, Immigration offences, Benefit fraud, Money laundering, Firearms offences and many more.
Let’s take a look at the category details of terrorism:
- Terrorism
- Preparing for acts of terrorism
- Membership of a proscribed organisation
- Fund raising for the purposes of terrorism
- Money laundering of terrorist property
- Failing to disclose information which may assist in the preventing an act of terrorism
- Weapons training for terrorism
- Proscription of organisations
- Possession of an article connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism
- Eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of armed forces
Now obviously, I’m sure, many of their clients seeking help with these issues were no doubt falsely accused. And it’s right and proper that they be afforded adequate legal help in mounting their defence. Be assured Chambers Solicitors do handle Legal Aid cases where the State will pay for defence if the defendant does not have the means to do so.
On to another area, much in the news these days in the UK. That of predatory sexual offenses against children. The UK is currently swamped with such cases as a simple google search will show (Rochdale child sex grooming: 10 men charged after new police … ; Oxfordshire grooming victims may have totalled 373 children ; Married groomer, 32, jailed for having sex up to 50 times with vulnerable girl, 15 just to pick three).
Rape of a child under 13- Sexual assault of a child under 13 by penetration
- Sexual assault of a child under 13
- Causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity
- Sexual activity with a child
- Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child
- Causing a child to watch a sexual activity
- Child sex offences committed by children or young persons
- Arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence
- Meeting a child following sexual grooming
- Abuse of position of trust: sexual activity with a child
- Sexual activity with a child family member
- Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice
- Paying for sexual services of a child
- Causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography
- Sex with an adult relative: penetration
- Possession of Indecent Images of Children from the Internet or Otherwise
- Taking, having, permitting, distributing or publishing indecent photographs of children
- Possession of indecent photograph of children
- Possession of extreme pornographic images
The other areas of their expertise, like run of the mill murder, manslaughter and paying people to kill are all covered in great depth. So are driving offences (I wonder if they offered help to killer Lord Ahmed after he crashed into a stationary car killing a person, probably while texting at 70 MPH).
Feel free to peruse the full list on their site. Let me know in the comments if you find anything else of note.
But do you know what really made me laugh? In all these lists of things Chambers Solicitors are competent to deal with guess what I can’t find any mention of: libel or defamation. That’s got to tell you something!
And a note about the title of this post. Talut is the Islamic version of the name for first king of a united Kingdom of Israel and Judah. The more well known version is Saul. And if you don’t know the phrase “Better Call Saul” you’ve not watched enough of the US TV series, Breaking Bad.
Updated: It’s been pointed out to me that the lead lawyer for Chambers Solicitors is a Mr Alias Yousaf. He was the defence lawyer for one of the 9 men convicted of scores of sex offences with children in Rochdale back in 2012. He was clearly interested in Twitter way back in 2012.
The solicitor for Adil Khan, one of the convicted men, said an appeal would be lodged.
Alias Yousaf claimed outside court that jury deliberations had been “breached”.
He claimed comments on Twitter by the far-right group Infidels of Great Britain and the leader of the British National Party, Nick Griffin, showed they knew the men would be found guilty before the verdicts were delivered.
Mr Yousaf said: “We are left with no option but to conclude that the confidentiality of the jury’s deliberations must have been breached.”
