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CAAB report:
Menwith Hill Arrests
by Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow
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UPDATE:
CAAB Report - struggling to maintain a human right
*Tuesday 5 October 2004*
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The case of Hurst and Agu v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire QBD 1986
gives us all the legal authority to obstruct the highway (known as
'deminimus' obstruction). It is a fine authority with wonderful words
and Lindis Percy has twice been successful in the courts using this case.
The American authorities at NSA/USAF Menwith Hill do not want us to be
there and have always made it abundently clear that the over-riding
priority on Tuesday nights is to make sure that traffic comes in and out
of the base with no hinderance. The Ministry of Defence Police Agency
(MDPA) have always made sure that this happens and do not help to uphold
the right to protest - a fine balance between this and the rights of
people to go about their lawful business. The MDPA are paid for and
under the operational control of the American authorites. It follows
that 'he/she who pays the piper - calls the tune'.
The MDPA have tried all ways to prevent us from using this lawful
authority to protest. They have pulled out of their 'tool box' all
manner of alleged and spurious offences in an attempt to get us to 'go
away'.
As many people know, CAAB has peacefully demonstrated on Tuesday
evenings (6-8 pm) throughout the seasons at Menwith Hill for over four
and a half year. We have struggled to uphold this precious human right.
On Tuesday night, Lindis Percy was the lone demonstrator until half and
hour before the end of the demonstration, when two friends from Bradford
arrived. A reporter was also present. It was great that they came.
Unfortunately Anni Rainbow who has not been well, was unable to come.
Throughout the evening, Lindis struggled to maintain the right to
protest in the meaning of the 'Hurst and Agu' case. It was clear from
the start that at any point, the Ministry of Defence Police were
determined to pounce.
Eventually, Lindis was told that she would be reported by way of summons
process for allegedly 'obstructing an officer in the execution of his
duty'. She continued to stand in front of cars for a short time leaving
the base - holding the US flag upside down with the words 'SHOCKING AND
AWFUL' written on it. She continued to maintain her legal right and was
arrested for 'obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty'.
She was taken to Harrogate Police Station and eventually charged with
the above alleged offence. She declined to be fingerprinted,
photographed or DNA taken.
This is an example of what is going on at Menwith Hill and we do urge
people to come and join us at the Main entrance to Menwith Hill on
Tuesday evenings 6-8 pm (at any part of the demonstration).
Lindis Percy has been arrested over 12 times since May this year, during the weekly Tuesday night demonstrations at NSA/USAF Menwith Hill.
She has been charged four times (cases now in the courts) and the other times she has been immediately released from custody because the Custody Officer has refused to accept her detention. This was because of the spurious reasons for arrest, abuse of power and serious mistakes made by Ministry of Defence Police Agency (MDPA) officers.
This week, Lindis was arrested by Chris Gage (PC) after about 20 minutes into the CAAB weekly demonstration for allegedly 'obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty' (ie allegedly 'obstructing' the view of the traffic MDPA officer directing traffic coming out of NSA/USAF Menwith Hill). Lindis absolutely denies this accusation.
She was taken to Harrogate Police Station. Chris Gage told the Custody Officer (Simon Smith - North Yorkshire Police) that he had arrested her because she had been warned several times that she was 'obstructing' the traffic officer. When asked by Simon Smith what powers the arresting officer had used to arrest Lindis, Chris Gage said 'section 25' (prompted by the Custody Officer - to which Lindis strongly objected) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 for 'failing to comply with directions given by a police officer'. The police however, have no powers under this Act to affect an arrest and Lindis was immediatly released (within 10 minutes of arriving at Harrogate Police Station). She returned straight away to Menwith Hill to join in the rest of the demonstration.
It was with deep concern that we noticed at the end of the demonstration that Barry Frost (Inspector MDPA) was also present at Menwith Hill during last Tuesday evening.
Barry Frost was the MDPA officer who made up a serious allegation that Lindis had assaulted him (at Fylingdales some years ago). Leeds Crown Court overturned the conviction.
Barry Frost assaulted Lindis at MHS Forest Moor in 1991 when he was a Sergeant at this base. The complaint she made against him was substantiated by the Police Complaints Authority. Barry Frost was then promoted to Inspector.
This officer is now apparently overall in charge of the Divisonal Support group (MDPA) in York who now regularly attend the Tuesday night demonstrations. It was abundantly clear who had instigated the arrest of Lindis last week.
Lindis will be adding this lastest unlawful arrest to the growing number of arrests she has been subjected to and which she is taking out a civil action against the Ministry of Defence Police Agency. A pending action is now in the hands of her solicitors.
PLEASE NOTE: We have struggled for over four and a half years to uphold the right to protest during the weekly CAAB organised demonstrations at Menwith Hill.
We ask that people come and support this struggle - the prime reason however, we are there every Tuesday evening is to convey to the people working on this American base that there are those of us who are deeply concerned as to the roles and functions of NSA/USAF Menwith Hill.
The outcome of the application by Lindis Percy (see CAAB report from Tuesday 17 August 2004 - last week) on Monday 23 August 2004 was that the Magistrates at Harrogate Court varied the bail conditions to come in line with the bail conditions already imposed on Lindis - ie not to cross the 'yellow line' or go with 5 metres of the circumference to Menwith Hill (the exact wording not to hand).
The regular Tuesday CAAB demonstration happened as usual tonight. Within 8 minutes of arriving Lindis was immediately arrested by PC Godfrey of the Ministry of Defence Police Agency for allegedly breaching the bail conditions of 15 metres. No amount of protest from us could persuade the MDPA that the previous bail conditions of 15 metres had been varied only yesterday to within 5 metres.
Lindis was immediately taken to Harrogate Police Station where Sergeant Micheldine (see previous report) refused to listen to any representations by Lindis. Had it not been for a forceful phone call from Anni Rainbow who advised the officer that 'it is not in our interests not tell the truth' and what Lindis was saying was true about the varied bail conditions, Lindis would have been detained overnight to appear at Harrogate Magistrates' Court the next morning. She was detained for about an hour and a half before the police checked their computer.
It is beyond belief that the Ministry of Defence Police Agency and Sergeant Micheldine could be so incompetent. This is particularly after the police imposed bail conditions that actually gave Lindis permission to enter within 15 metres of MH - the word NOT having been omitted.
Humberside Police went to Lindis's address in Hull on Saturday with new bail conditions but she was away for the weekend.
Lindis will now bring a civil action for unlawful arrest, detention and assault against this unaccountable police force.
NB: Ministry of Defence Police Agency officers who work on US bases are paid for and under the operational control of the US authorities.
The saga of unsafe and invalid Military Land Byelaws around US bases in the UK
.....and a word about Jonathan Crabtree (Crown Court Judge)
It is with deep regret that we learnt of the death of Jonathan Crabtree (an English Judge in the Crown Court legal system).
The Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) has always thought that it is important to (and has been careful to) acknowlege the work of many people over centuries, who have bravely struggled to change the law - specifically in the movement to gain the civil liberties which have been handed on to us because of these struggles. Future generations have built on this work. It is important to accurately document some of the history of this work.
It was the meticulous and tireless work of someone called John Bugg who first acknowleged that there was a problem with a law on English Statute - namely Military Land Byelaws (MLBs) - a law which was brought in to legally 'protect' military bases and which made trespass a criminal offence.
This law was used to great advantage in the mid-80s in the UK (during the protest against US Cruise Missiles) by the Secretary of State for Defence to deter any protest on bases - specifically on bases occupied and controlled by the US Visiting Forces. NSA/USAF Menwith Hill was one of the bases. This base was 'ringed' with MLBs in 1986 in an attempt to stop protest on the base.
John's work continued and in the meantime the MLBs at Greenham Common were over turned in 1987 by three women who had built on his early work.
John Bugg died in 1993. He had worked away for many years on his own, often unsupported and at great personnal cost to expose the fact that many MLBs were invalid. Simply put, the law maker (the Secretary of State for Defence) had abused his powers in the making of this law. John's important work exposed this.
Many people over many years were arrested, detained, charged and convicted under unsafe law.
Having met John in 1987, Lindis Percy (Joint Co-ordinator with Anni Rainbow of CAAB) worked with him to expose the abuse of power and manipulation of the invalid MLBs involving various military bases in the UK - (UK and US bases) by the Ministry of Defency Police Agency (MDPA). Hundreds of arrests followed.
This work culminated in 1993 when John and Lindis took a case to the High Court, London to challenge the validity of the HM Forest Moor and Menwith Hill byelaws (the first set of byelaws). The byelaws were declared 'defective on their face' and therefore no longer safe to bring a prosecution. (DPP v Percy and another (Woolf and Pill) QBD 1993). The MLBs at USAF Alconbury also fell (John Bugg and Rachel Greaves).
There followed a legal muddle after the High Court ruling when Lindis and Rachel (John was to have been one of the Claimants) brought a counter action for unlawful arrest and detention under the invalid Menwith Hill byelaws.
The Claim was against 66 MDPA officers, several Home Office Police, the Attorney General, various Chief Constables and others. The outcome was that the byelaws were declared valid (A.S Hall and others v Lindis Percy and another - QBD 1995), despite many people being awarded costs for unlawful arrest and detention because of the 1993 High Court ruling. Legal aid was not granted despite an appeal by Lindis, so preventing her from taking the case to the House of Lords.
Three years later new byelaws at 'RAF' Menwith Hill were brought in and were challenged by Anne Lee and Helen John (Menwith Hill Womens Campaign). Jonathan Crabtree (Judge) ruled that the second set of byelaws were invalid. However, later his ruling was overturned by the High Court. The byelaws were apparently valid again.
Jonathan Crabtree was no stranger to the workings of Menwith Hill. He was the Judge who had presided over a civil action brought by the Secretary of State for Defence against Lindis in 1991.
The case eventually was heard by Jonathan Crabtree in York Country Court in 1992. Lindis's defence prompted him to send this case back to the High Court - commenting and acknowledging the important of this case, Jonathan Crabtree said:
If Ms Percy is right in her defence, it will mean that all the Arrangements and Agreements made between the UK and US government will have to be renegotiated'.
The case had to be conceeded in 1993 when the then Secretary of State for Defence successfully applied for a 'gagging Order' (Public Interest Immunity Certificate). Jonathan Crabtree had raised an important issue concerning the legality of NSA/Menwith Hill. It was no wonder that the Government was worried.
Since the second set of byelaws many people have again been arrested and charged. To get the case into the court Lindis again deliberately broke the law and was arrested the day after the byelaws came in force. She was the first person to be convicted under the second set of byelaws. A chance to challenge the byelaws by Lindis was however lost.
The policy of the MDPA and the Crown Prosecution Service has been to drop all charges so as to prevent a challenge to the validity of the second set of byelaws.
However work has continued and is continuing to bring a case to secure and expose the invalidity of the second set of byelaws (among other issues). This work continues the long struggle of John Bugg and one which Lindis Percy has been persistently engaged with for over 17 years.
We have John Bugg and Jonathan Crabtree to thank for their revelations and exposures of unsafe law and the wider issues of the occupation and control of the US Visiting Forces in the UK - their work contributed to important changes in the law - and made a historical difference.
– Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow
Anni Rainbow and Lindis Percy
Joint Co-ordinators
CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES (CAAB)
8 Park Row
Otley
West Yorkshire
LS21 1HQ
England, U.K.
Tel/fax no: +44 (0)1943 466405 0R +44 (0)1482 702033
email: anniandlindis@caab.org.uk or
caab@btclick.com
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed it's the only thing that ever does." Margaret Mead
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