I’ve always had my doubts about the time Starmer ran the Crown Prosecution Service. He was quick enough to pursue 25 Sun journalists – all cleared by the way but his organisation failed to charge Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.
Starmer claimed a couple of weeks back, as the full horror of Fayed’s sexual attacks became clear, that the case of the sex attack had ‘’ never crossed my desk’’. I had my doubts. Not to believe a lawyer who went on to become a full-time politician should be the nom.
So, I did what you would expect me to do. I began investigating if what he said was true. I first called the CPS press office and left a long message, explaining what I was researching and asking to be called back on a number I left.
What do you think happened? Correct. I never heard back. So, I sent the press office another note and this time they replied giving me another email for my Freedom of Information request.
The new email told me that I would hear back in a month. Personally, I find it out of the question that the head of the CPS would not be across the detail of an accusation that one of the richest and most powerful men in the land at the time had allegedly assaulted a teenager.
Anyway, I’ll update you on Starmer when I hear.
It’s because of my experience with the CPS that I warm to Reform and their threat to carry out a private prosecution over the shocking brawl at Manchester Airport which has gone oddly quiet since it hit our screens on July 23. The Tories should have been all over it but once again ignored a populist issue.
Those with decent memories will remember that there were two videos that showed what happened at the airport. The first one, you can guess where it came from, showed a police officer stamping one chap in the head. That video led to officers being suspended.
Then another video emerged which showed the brother of the chap kicked in the head, punching a female office, breaking her nose and then bashing another officer to the ground. What nobody knew was that the timeline showed the officer had her nose broken first.
It’s for a court to decide whether a crime has been committed and how it should be punished but Richard Tice, Farage’s No.2, is concerned that the two brothers involved in the violence may not be charged. He believes that someone very senior ‘’possibly right at the very top’’ made a deliberate decision to withhold the full footage of the incident.
Further, he said, whoever leaked the second piece of footage, ‘’did a great service to the national public interest’’.
Tice believes the CPS is waiting for the Independent Office for Police Conduct to ‘’find some fault’’ with Greater Manchester Police officer involved to give them a reason not to progress charges against the alleged assailants.
Reform therefore have written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper accusing her and Starmer of ‘’denying the actual existence’’ of two-tier police and two-tier justice. Of course, Reform is right.
How on earth could somebody break a police officer’s nose and not be charged? It beggars belief.
This is an important case. It would be a disgrace if Starmer trotted out his tried and trusted; It didn’t cross my desk.