Greg Hadfield

Acquitted! After 14 months, a victory for every journalist and all those who believe in free speech. Defend journalism; Expose Labour; Repeal Section 127

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

A lot of supporters of Cllr Ty Galvin have been asking to see my nine articles on Medium.

Here they all are:

https://t.co/ZvhJ9HEc5i

[Alex Crawford @AlexCrawfordSky]

A seething MSF statement re the latest deadly Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital which killed 6. Nasser is one of the few (partially) functioning hospitals in the occupied territory. ‘Under international humanitarian law, hospitals must be respected and protected. In no conceivable circumstances can attacks on functioning hospitals in Gaza be treated as normal or acceptable’ says @MSF A prev Israeli ‘double tap’ strike on Nasser Hosp in Aug last year killed 5 journalists responding to the initial strike. IDF used the same claim then of targeting Hamas with no evidence. @MSF has urged the int community to move beyond condemnation and take action ‘The continued attacks on healthcare cannot be met with silence and impunity’, it continued

[Peter Hitchens @ClarkeMicah]

If the roughly 9.7 million military dead of World War I were to march through the centre of Paris four abreast, it would take them 20 days of continuous, non-stop marching to pass a single point. If you include the civilan deaths, it would take six weeks.

[Quentin Letts @thequentinletts]

I just entered this (empty) newsagent-type shop on Brighton's Duke Street and asked if it sold newspapers. The youngish bloke at counter shouted at me to stop wasting his time and - in a total fury - to 'get out!' Whole exchange took perhaps 15 seconds. All most peculiar.

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

Police seem to be removing “packages”….

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

Hi @thequentinletts: Big police presence ongoing now…at (and in) the “newsagents” in Brighton that explained to you that it didn’t sell newspapers!!!!

[Brighton Argus @brightonargus]

Live updates as large police presence spotted in city centre https://t.co/zHrwktdko9

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

It is a sad reflection of modern football that the man who cares most about Manchester United, who will loyally, diligently again go into Carrington today to try and tackle the mess, is the one being eased out by those gathering in Monaco and via a link to Florida who don’t truly have United in their heart. Those who are primarily responsible for the mess.

Michael Carrick will leave the club sooner or later but the club will never leave him. United mean too much to him. He gave everything for the team in 464 games. His son plays for their academy. Being United head coach is not simply a job for Carrick, it's an honour he feels deeply proud of.

The manager who last season masterminded home wins over Manchester City, Aston Villa and Liverpool and away triumphs at Arsenal, Chelsea and Brighton has undoubtedly made mistakes this season. Diogo Dalot at left-back, not bringing Shea Lacey on earlier, etc. The poor run, and tumble into the relegation positions, inevitably means his job is on the line.

It is possible to understand why Carrick should lose his job but also why others should be held accountable, too. The decision on Carrick would be more palatable if it weren’t being formulated and then executed by Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the loathed Glazers. What good have they done to this great club? Debts and decline, holes in the roof and in the squad.

Carrick’s contribution to the history of Manchester United is substantial and his legacy secure – winning five titles and taking responsibility for a penalty in the 2008 shootout that helped win the Champions League.

At the very least, Carrick deserves to be treated with far more respect than is currently being shown to a dignified, hard-working individual as the clock ticks down on his departure. His exit is being handled appallingly by the club. Red man walking. At least United fans are showing all the class their board lacks. The Stretford End sings Carrick’s name because they know he is not the real problem.

It will be no surprise in weeks to come to spot Carrick standing, hood up, with United fans at an away game. They will welcome him warmly. He’s done it before, being a fan again. Carrick loves the club. He has ever since he was an apprentice at West Ham United, charged with keeping the away dressing-room tidy, and admiring how Alex Ferguson and his smartly-dressed collection of winners strode into the Boleyn Ground. They had an aura, and Carrick wanted to be part of that.

Carrick will leave the club physically, dismissed as much for the failings of underperforming players, those incompetents in charge of recruitment and the unpopular owners, as for his own undoubted mistakes. But Carrick will never leave United emotionally. It's sad that someone who cares so much will go, and those who don't care as much remain. #MUFC

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

Strangely, @brightonargus has deleted all comments about their unbalanced article concerning Cllr Amanda Grimshaw's vexatious complaint.

No further comments now allowed.

Most were favourable to Cllr Ty Galvin. Fortunately, I screenshotted them:

https://t.co/E70Zf48hUf

[Alex Crawford @AlexCrawfordSky]

The UK Govt has been given suggestions on how NOT to just stand by… with several ways to ensure suffering in Gaza is eased. @Caabu urged @Ed_Miliband and the UK Govt to ensure that ‘Israel permits free and proper humanitarian access into Gaza. This includes using powers to sanction those who block life-saving humanitarian aid’.

[Dr. Jill Stein🌻 @DrJillStein]

Really? You could start by making it legal to protest genocide in the UK.

[Alex Crawford @AlexCrawfordSky]

The Israeli authorities continue to restrict vital goods into Gaza which would ease the suffering of those living in the most desperate conditions - limiting the entry of ‘tents, tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, insulation materials, blankets, fuel, cooking gas, heating equipment, and construction materials needed to repair damaged shelters’ - @save_children

https://t.co/lsPZA8RBIm

[Sophie @tigerseye39]

@Ed_Miliband @GregHadfield Stop supporting Israel

[Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband]

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is getting worse. Heavy rain. Flooded tents. The reality on the ground is heartbreaking.

The UK government will not stand by. We will not rest until we bring an end to the intolerable suffering.

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

A longtime friend and supporter of Cllr Ty Galvin sent this private email a few days ago.

It seems timely to share it:

[Jemima Goldsmith @Jemima_Khan]

I am going to describe some painful and personal things in relation to Russell Brand because I have been put in a position now where I feel that I have no choice other than to do so, given the misleading reports and speculation around the facts of a harassment injunction that was taken out to protect me and my family.

Firstly, and most importantly, I am and have always been strongly and unequivocally on the side of all of Brand’s victims. I am in awe of the courageous women who came forward at Brand’s trial, told their stories, testified and ensured justice was done. I have had my own personal experience of his violence, coercive control and abuse. I had to call the police to have him removed from my house in 2014 during a violent incident. I chose not to press charges at the time and not to go public with this, as I was worried about the impact of the press attention on my then teenage children. I have neither seen nor spoken to Brand since that period in 2014. Whilst my pain in relation to this, pales in comparison to what the women have testified in court have suffered, this was a difficult period in my life which has had a lasting impact.

Over several years, I assisted the journalists who finally exposed him; Ros Urwin, Louisa Compton and Dorothy Byrne.  I also undertook to testify in court to his abusiveness, if the newspaper that published the victims’ accounts were ever to be sued.

I have spent much of my professional career trying to support unfairly demonised and silenced women, such as Monica Lewinsky and defending free speech.

In 2014, a harassment injunction was taken out against a woman called Szilvia Berki which was made final in 2015. 

I fully understand the good intentions of those now advocating on her behalf online and agree with their demand for this harassment injunction to be varied, as my lawyer made clear to Berki’s lawyer in December last year.

However, the commentary and media reporting this week has presented an untrue narrative, which has opened me up to vile hatred and abuse online.

For this reason, and to correct the record, I am providing the factual background to that injunction to explain why The High Court found the campaign of harassment by Berki against me to be, "oppressive and unacceptable” and made the order permanent.

The background to this is that Ms Berki came to my house for roughly 30 minutes in June 2014, after I booked her to give a massage to Brand. By the time she arrived he had decided he didn’t want a massage and asked her to leave. She was clearly offended. I was present the whole time he was with her, and I did not see anything untoward, despite the fact that he was later found guilty of sexually assaulting other women and he later physically assaulted me. If I saw any man abuse any woman under any circumstances, I would do my utmost to stop them, without hesitation.

Ms Berki later reported to the police that Brand had pushed her in the back whilst she was leaving the house and that she also said she was “attacked” by my dog, which she described in her police statement as my dog licking her face. The police rightly investigated Ms Berki’s complaint. I cooperated fully with the investigation, provided a truthful statement about what I saw and also provided CCTV footage, which showed my overly exuberant but totally unaggressive dog jumping up.  

Following an investigation into Ms Berki’s allegations, police concluded that there was no case to answer and that no criminal offence had been committed.

According to the police, at no time did Ms Berki ever state to them that she had been assaulted, threatened or falsely imprisoned.

There was also a subsequent review of the investigation by the IPCC and Thames Valley Police Professional Standards which found that the original police investigation had been correct in its findings.

In the meantime, several untrue stories appeared in the tabloid papers. Ms Berki forwarded an email to me confirming a payment for one such story she had received from The Sun newspaper. Articles were also published in The Telegraph, The Mail and The Mirror at Ms Berki’s instigation which contained her account of the alleged incident.

Then having at first said in a story published by the Daily Mail that she had found me to be “really very nice, very, very nice,” she later embarked on a campaign of vicious antisemitic and threatening abuse online and in emails.

Below is just a sample of some of those tweets and messages sent over many months (which were submitted to the judge who granted the harassment injunction)-

(Jemima is a) “deeply rotted JEWISH Bitch”

“Did you know that if your life is in danger you can LAWFULLY kill your attacker as defence?! … by now I could have lawfully kill at least 5-6 people who were hurting me”

“Also happy birthday (Jemima). I hope you have more. In other words I hope you don’t die this year.”

EMAIL- “If you make me very upset…you can expect the worts from me – I think you know this – without that I need to remind you”

“What is going on in Britain is a dictatory of J evils. English Jewish Evil dictatory”

“Would like to see justice, and I do not think that I should do it myself but what can I do when every organisation is scared of Jevils! ;)”

“They say … Do not hate all Jews because you know a few Jewish evils. They are on top always decadent and evils”

“Fortunately there are many mansions outside of the UK where Jewish money aristocrats are still not welcomed

#Germany #Austria #Italy #Hungary”

"Judge on High Court: I ordered her to shut up Jew. Do I have a case or not? soon we will kill her then".

“A pity that I was in the UK. BB In Hungary if you would report the Police they would for sure find it without an investigation already that the Jews are guilty. Sad”

“Every organisation is scared of JEVILS”

“When my great grandparents see what Jews did to me they do something in heaven to solve this. I will not make my hand dirty with Jews.”

“J evils … Rob, lie, crime”

“I am so happy I am free from the English Jewish Evil dictator and outside of England the High Court cannot rule”

“Probably I wait a bit more and than go public. What is going on in Britain is a dictatory of J evils.”

She sent an enormous volume of similarly disturbing emails and tweets to or about me, to my family, to my workplace, to journalists from the national media to members of my family, to UNICEF UK where I had been a goodwill Ambassador for decades, and to organisations my ex-husband was associated with, and to MPs.

She began disseminating on social media wild and untrue allegations about me, ranging from kidnap to cyberhacking, to having someone bump into her and laugh at her in the tube station, having her followed by two men, bribing the police, paying off a judge, and other false and alarming conspiracy theories based on my Jewishness.

The number, tone and content of these messages was extremely frightening. It was distressing for my then teenage children and my family. I was concerned that Ms Berki was potentially a real danger to my family and me. I have had stalkers before and this behaviour felt similarly threatening.

Although I was at this point no longer in contact with Brand, I agreed to the suggestion by his lawyer of a harassment order. My sole reason was to stop Ms Berki targeting me and my family. The harassment injunction was upheld by the High Court and Court of Appeal on several occasions.

I engaged a lawyer of my own when I was made aware that Berki was applying to the court to vary the terms of the injunction. And I instructed my lawyer in December last year to approach Ms Berki’s barrister to say that I agreed to vary the injunction so that she could speak to the police again if she wanted to. I also instructed my lawyer to engage on her other requests.

I did this despite my real fears that the harassment would re-commence and that her threatening antisemitism, if again unleashed, might exacerbate the danger to my children and me that we continue to face because of our Jewish heritage and their father’s political career and incarceration in Pakistan.

Her barrister has not responded to my lawyer since May of this year despite trying to engage him. I was informed by her lawyer that any change to the injunction must also be agreed by Brand.  I have no ability to compel Brand in this matter, as I have not seen or spoken to him in over a decade.

I hope this information will help clarify speculation about my involvement in the anti-harassment order.

I am glad and relieved that Russell Brand has finally faced justice.

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

Cllr Bella Sankey, Theresa Fowler, and Amanda Grimshaw. All smiles…

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

https://t.co/ebWnaKQIWJ

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

Thank goodness the chancer known as Chris Ward won’t be an MP next time.

Having started out as an Ivor Caplin, where did it all go wrong for the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown?

🤮

https://t.co/yhqgZ7IQS5

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

Good morning, Hove!

Peter loves the smell of napalm in the morning.

[Greg Hadfield @GregHadfield]

There’s nothing like a bit of bombing to get Peter Kyle’s juices flowing:

https://t.co/IS7YBgRoIR

[Ms Rebecca 🇵🇸🇱🇧 @BeckyCheAbas]

@GregHadfield Kyle voted to bomb Syria in 2015. He has never condemned the Israeli genocide. As for the “freedoms we enjoy..” Kyle had a constituent dawn raided for sending him emails about the illegal bombing of Gaza and Iran. Kyle is a war mongering monster.