The Right Hon. Jeremy Wright QC MP
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Office
20 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0NF
Jeremy.wright.mp@parliament.uk
correspondence@attorneygeneral.gsi.gov.uk
Dear Jeremy Wright
Is the CPS jeopardising the independent delivery of justice by collaborating with lobby groups?
Alison Saunders states clearly that the role of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is to deliver justice for which two criteria must be met to establish whether or not a crime is prosecutable:
- Is there sufficient evidence?
- Is it in the public interest?
A third criterion should be included in deciding whether or not to prosecute a crime:
- Will the accused receive an uncompromised, fair trial?
With respect to Hate Crime, Alison Saunders also made a commitment to treat:
“..online hate crimes just as seriously as those experienced face to face, ..”
explaining:
“One common thread that links online purveyors of hate with those who commit physical hate crimes or real-world terrorists is the desire to undermine and instil fear in those they target, ….”
This CPS drive to pursue the perpetrators of hate crime and to bring the guilty to justice, is commendable. However, there are concerns about the CPS partnerships in its #hatecrimematters campaign
The CPS enlists four partners:
- TELL MAMA UK
- STOP HATE UK
- LGBT (represented by galop.org.uk)
- COMMUNITY SECURITY TRUST (CST).
These organisations participated in carrying out surveys about hate crime on social media and are now the official third-party reporting organisations. This means that the public is encouraged to report hate crime to any one of these four organisations who, in turn, act as reporting intermediaries between the victim/public and the police. They also use this information to compile data bases and reports.
What is the point of a third-party filtering system?
There are several issues of concern about the necessity to have third-party agencies at all:
- Is there any reason why Hate Crime, like any other crime, cannot be reported directly by the victim to the police on 101?
- Given there is a need in the market place, what lies behind the decision to officially include any third-party reporting organisations within the legal system?
- What were the criteria for choosing these third-party organisations as opposed to any others?
- Was due diligence carried out about the links between the four chosen third-party agencies?
- Was it a deliberate decision to exclude organisations representing the Sikh or Hindu communities, to mention just two of the many sections of UK diverse society?
Who defines race hate?
HATE CRIME A guide for those affected by antisemitism and anti-Muslim Race Hate has been produced by the Community Security Trust, Tell MAMA UK, The Crown Prosecution Service and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Several concerns arise out of this report:
The Government has officially recognised and accepted the INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE ALLIANCE (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism after much consultation and debate and its inclusion in the guidelines is understandable.
- Why does this hate crime guide include the Tell MAMA UK definition and advice on how to report Muslim hate crime in the absence of an officially recognised definition?
- Was it a deliberate decision to exclude other self-definitions of hate crime defined by the Sikh, Asian, Christian or any other communities and religious or ethnic groups in our society?
Is there a connection between the four third-party reporting agencies?
There are established links between these organisations that share patrons, ambassadors and business interests. For instance:
- Rev Paul Oakley is a Patron of Tell MAMA UK, an Ambassador for Stop Hate UK and a frequent speaker for Green Belt an organisation that regularly holds events demonising the Jews of Israel.
- Tell MAMMA UK is associated with the CST and co-ordinated by Faith Matters with President Richard Benson also ex chair of CST and Honorary Vice President of Maccabee UK, a partner in their Tell Mama UK ‘Stand Up Education’ enterprise, on the advisory board of Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA) and a trustee of the London Jewish Forum. Tell MAMA UK founder was advisor to Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg who awarded funding to Tell MAMA UK.
This collaboration of the CPS and these organisations with their intricately interwoven connections, of itself, stimulates division and hate crime.
Our concern is that fairness and independence in delivering justice is compromised.
These third-party reporting agencies create a potential single force of influence on the delivery of justice so that the independence of the CPS is compromised.
Along with the concern about hate crime comes an ever-increasing pool of vested interest organisations. In effect hate crime becomes big business.
Whilst consultations with the diverse sections of society are essential, it is advisable not to include any vested interest third-party organisations in the decision-making process of the CPS.
The collaboration with third party agencies lays the CPS open to pressure and influence that may or may not be impartial:
There is apparent inequality in sentencing hate crimes:
A man despicably making a statement on Facebook about Muslims is given a prison sentence, whereas another person shouting in Hendon, London that all Jews should be killed is fined £300, and a man who attacked Jews in Stamford Hill was let off completely, whilst a man is jailed for something called “Islamic trolling”.
Why is there this inequality in trials and sentencing?
This collaboration between the CPS and these lobby groups openly support the Free Gaza movement, as seen in the Tell Mama UK promotional video. This video is seemingly endorsed by the four third-party reporting agencies named at the end of the video together with contact details for reporting hate crime. (Following pressure the film is now taken down from the website, but we can provide a link on request) The independence of the CPS in delivering justice is compromised, instead promoting anti-Semitism as defined by the IHRA.
This collaboration with vested interest groups taints our democracy, serving to increase hate crime rather than fair and uncompromised prosecutions.
We ask that you as Attorney General to please to reconsider the wisdom of this collaboration that serves to compromise the fair and just delivery of justice.
Yours faithfully
Sharon Klaff
Ambrosine Shitrit
Mark Haringman
Campaign4Truth & Eye on Antisemitism
campaign4t@gmail.com
