Marshall (and the) law

Early this morning I published a coruscating letter written by the barrister Paul Marshall to the Court of Appeal as he stood down from representing three former Subpostmasters – Seema Misra, Janet Skinner and Tracy Felstead.

In it, Mr Marshall notes he has been made subject of possible contempt charges (which carry a maximum of two years in prison) during:

“proceedings to which I am not a party, in the course of a hearing at which I was not present, in the course of a hearing of which I was given no notice that any issue in connection with my conduct was to be raised.”

He concludes the order the court made against him on 3 Dec was “a threat”, hence he can no longer discharge his duties on behalf of his clients. Read the letter (with redactions to hopefully forestall any contempt charges against me) here.

Various affronts

Despite losing two barristers, the Subpostmasters’ appeal is still on course. Thanks to the work of Mr Marshall, Flora Page and the advocacy skills of late substitute Lisa Busch QC, the full hearing scheduled for 22 March will go ahead with issues of Subpostmaster prosecutions being an “affront to the public conscience” still in play.

This has come at considerable personal cost, and not just to Mr Marshall and Ms Page. Tracy Felstead told the BBC recent events caused her to have a neurological breakdown which left her paralysed on one side. Nonetheless, the victory on the 17 Dec suggested to her there was “light at the end of the tunnel.” Tracy has has had some terrible mental and physical health problems since she was incarcerated aged 19 in 2002. I hope she recovers well.

It’s beginning to feel…

I have promised Mrs Wallis and the children I will close the lid on my laptop (save for Christmas zooms with the relatives!) at the end of today, so this is likely to be the last secret email of the year.

Thank you so much for the fantastic support you have shown me – it means more of this horrific story can be brought into the public domain. There’s obviously still plenty more to come. I wish you all a relaxing break and hope that 2021 is better for all of us than 2020. It’s been a funny old year.

Stay safe and Happy Christmas!!

Nick