Image: How Trafigura and Carter-Ruck would prefer things to be. Creative Commons License.
The Guardian has been blocked from reporting the following Parliamentary question:
N Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legislation to protect (a) whistleblowers and (b) press freedom following the injunctions obtained in the High Court by (i) Barclays and Freshfields solicitors on 19 March 2009 on the publication of internal Barclays reports documenting alleged tax avoidance schemes and (ii) Trafigura and Carter-Ruck solicitors on 11 September 2009 on the publication of the Minton report on the alleged dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast, commissioned by Trafigura.
This scandal is an upwardly mobile trend on Twitter. Here is a sample of the Twitters going out:
Superb work from adam.tudor@carter-ruck.com & isabel.hudson@carter-ruck.com in keeping their client's name quiet. #trafigura #carter-ruck
I have emailed these addresses in the following terms, and I hope you will too.
Dear Adam and Isabel I was surprised to read that a national newspaper has been prevented from reporting on a Parliamentary question, since this would seem to go against the 1688 Bill of Rights. Could you explain the thinking behind this situation please? Thank you
Dr Richard Lawson
Carter Ruck can be reached on
Tel: +44 (0)20 7353 5005, or for those who live in shacks,
Fax: +44 (0)20 7353 5553.
Trafigura's number in Lucerne Switzerland is 0041 41 41 419 4323.
The great thing about this is that it's not just us greenies and bleeding heart liberals who are hopping mad about it. The Rabid Anarcho-Libertarian Right is on the case too.
The BBC can be encouraged to mention this matter here. [update: they have now mentioned it, briefly. Twitter pressure?]
If you do not know that all this is about, here is the story of how Trafigura dumped toxic waste in Africa, with serious health problems for the local community. Internal emails showed that Trafigura knew of the harm that they were doing.
Flashmob on this Thursday 1 pm outside Carter Ruck's offices.
No 10 Petition here.
President Kagame of Rwanda has cited the Trafigura incident as a reason for African States to look to China as a trading partner. (Thanks to Frank Habineza of the Rwandan Green Party for this)
Update 1 pm BST: Victory! Carter Ruck caves in!!
38 Degrees are currently running a campaign on this. Take action now by emailing your MP and asking them to take a stand. Take action now, it only takes 2 mins. Go to:
ReplyDelete38degrees.org.uk/stop-the-gag
Great! Done it. Thanks Laura0
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/katebevan/status/4832445300
ReplyDeleteis a Guardian journalist confirming that it's Sweeney that did it, but we can't keep it up on wikipedia without a confirmed source.
I'm pretty sure that his name would have appeared on an MSM site by now if the injunction didn't (still) prohibit his name being cited.
Thanks Richard. Could I get done for contempt of court if I said that whoever handed out the order, it was a contemptible judgment?
ReplyDeleteDon’t think there’s too much room to be complacent on this. As a commenter at 6:13 pm called Beaton suggests:
ReplyDelete“… the injunction was not overturned because an outraged appeal judge decided to overturn it. It was merely discontinued because the plaintiffs knew they were fighting against the tide. The judge who issued the original injunction is still in place; the laws he used to issue the injunction are still in place – so something sinister is still going on.”
It seems likely that the plaintiffs knew they were rumbled this time and simply avoided digging their hole any deeper. British law works by precedent, so the plaintiffs would not want to endanger future actions by setting a bad precedent with this. By withdrawing now, they can use the bad law as it stands, to fight again another day - and next time we may not be so lucky - or even hear of it at all.
Too cynical?
Not with this lot around.
Let's not give way to pessimism. We can justifiably see this as a clear tactical victory for the blogosphere, a battle won. We need to keep up the momentum by demanding reform to the libel laws, and reform of laws governing the corporatitons. Don't forget that this is about Trafigura being brought to justice. They have paid derisory compensation to their victims, but they need to be hung out to dry in the law courts.
ReplyDeleteIt's not about pessimism Doctor, it's about realism.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, never give way to complacency.
"We need to keep up the momentum by demanding reform to the libel laws, and reform of laws governing the corporations. Don't forget that this is about Trafigura being brought to justice. They have paid derisory compensation to their victims, but they need to be hung out to dry in the law courts"
Spot on!
I assure you I am not complacent, just chuffed at a victory in a time when the news seems to be generally bad. It was a battle won, now we have a war to win.
ReplyDelete