The GCC no lovers of free speech spent almost £100,000 trying to censor this site

“When there’s a rift in the lute, the business of the lawyer is to widen the rift and gather the loot”
Arthur Garfield Hays; Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations.

In the last few years the GCC has contributed much to the coffers of the leagal profession. I hope they know what they are doing hiring Addleshaw Goddard in an effort ot have 70 postings deleted  and  identify people who have commented.

The GCC will have to get a court order for information to be realeased because it is covered by data protection and even then it may not identify the poster. The GCC are paying a fortune to discover the identity of a person who called a GCC member, a “knob” this member does not even live in this country?

Addleshaw Goddard have sent us details of the postings the GCC feel are defamatory. The Posters that the GCC want identified are BCA Female, Kindperson, Bones, Inside out and Informedconsent. Four are current members and do not wish their details revealed to the GCC, we believe these details are protected by the Data Protection Act. We will only comply with the GCC request if a court orders us to do so.

These posting were edited by the posters themselves and the moderators long before GCC lawyers told us their clients found them to be defamatory. None of the material in question has been on the site since early January. See attached letter for details. (Not anymore)
The GCC solicitors have called us this evening saying that their letter which was attached must be taken off the site. The solicitors letter makes it clear that “The GCC” consider the statments made by the posters named above are defamatory

The poster “Inside out” commented on the GCC solicitors desire to have their letter removed from the website because she  “failed to appreciate Mr Price” and according to the solicitors defamed Mr Price because “Inside out” found it “stressful” talking to Greg and was wrong to get the “ impression” that he lacked compassion.

“Inside out” then asked how can I be wrong to get an impression from direct conversation with Greg Price? My personal experience was a manner and attitude that was both unhelpful and arrogant in the extreme. And if this and the whole tangible stressful experience to me and my family is only an impression may I say
a)not getting to sleep at night thinking about my first conversation with Greg Price is not fictional
b)stress on family life is not imagined
c)stress on working life is most certainly tangible.
Where was Greg Prices lack of appreciation to me without knowing me or my circumstances? Rude, condescending and arrogant was the tone, and it was from direct conversation that this “impression” of lack of compassion was formulated.

On March 30 2006

I spoke with Peter Dixon about the GCC continuing this action against now only three members of the site after the revelation that one of the posters Adelshaw Goddard were trying to expose was in fact a GCC employee, Deputy Registrar, Greg Price

I must say I was very surprised by this turn of events. I spoke to Peter Dixon today as far as he was concerned members of the GCC had voted to pursue this case and nothing had changed. When I put it to him that Greg Price had resigned, he said I did not know why Greg Price had resigned and I should be careful what I said about Mr Price’s resignation??
Now if the GCC will not confirm whether Cognitio was Greg Price, then it could be anyone at GCC headquarters and they could be still there. Cognitio has been posting on the site since October and the GCC can not reveal who Cognitio is because of the data protection act. Rather ironic when you think the solicitors for the GCC said members of this site were not protected by the data protection act only a few weeks ago. That’s lawyers for you.
I can not see how the GCC can make a case for defamation when Cognitio could be any of the people claiming defamation at the GCC now. The computer used by Cognitio logged on yesterday morning at 10.21 and was looking at postings for most of the day until 19.30. So Cognitio is still visiting the site from GCC head office, even though Mr Price has resigned.
“Cognitio” a GCC executive officer, claiming to be a registered chiropractor and being reported to the police, how is that explained at the next council meeting in June. Greg Price was recruited by Ms Coates, with I am told, a glowing recommendation from her to the council members. Mr Price told us at the Jensen hearing that he would usually run things of a disciplinary nature by Ms Coates Mr Prices testimony makes interesting reading, in the light of recent events.

Ms Coates has admitted it and the employee has been reported to the police. However there could have been a number of GCC employees using this IP in fact every time I looked yesterday they were on the site going through the forums. Presumably looking for new material for their court order. Now as Greg Price has left who is this mystery guest. This computer has been regularly used to visit this site since october and has never objected to any postings since I became a moderator in January.
In fact the only objection has come from the GCC’s very expensive solicitors and we did not remove one posting because of this complaint on the grounds the GCC was trying to censor our discussion.

June 15 2006 I posted;

Peter Dixon told me the decision to go after the posters was made by council not Margaret Coats.

However having talked to a number of GCC council members about it, the site was presented to the council as subversive by Margaret Coats. A forum that was spreading lies about council members, trying to intimidate them by posting “pictures of Linda Stones family”. etc etc. On the basis of the information presented, GCC members supported taking action against the posters.
Other council members with a different agenda may have had a view to removing content which did not portray them in a good light including 20 postings from me. I refused to remove any of my postings on the grounds that I stood by every word I had posted and would resist GCC’s effort to censor me.

Obviously some people on the GCC thought they could have 70 postings removed and 17 people named and scare the shit out of many others. That’s probably why they thought it was worth the big investment in Addleshaw Goddard specialists in this field.
What happened is, the GCC committed a small fortune to this cause, but by the time they were going to the court “Cognitio” had blow up in their face. Most of the “defamatory” material was about Greg Price who resigned, nevertheless they went to the high court on the basis that Ms Coates had been “defamed”.

While the entire council sanctioned the action, I believe it was a small few GCC members who pursued this in the hope that a council member who did not support Michael Copeland Griffiths on the vote of confidence was on the end of the postings and would be removed from the vote for the chairman.

As GCC members jockey for position for the vote for the new chairman , I don’t think the integrity of GCC officer “Cognitio” will warrant much attention at the next meeting.
I think this will pass under the radar.

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