Wow, that all seems a little blinkered and paranoid.
It seems a little unfair to blame the CPS for doing their job to the best of
their ability with the tools (charging mechanisms, evidence presented and
the Law) available to them.
If they wish to have a go at someone have a go at the law makers, ie, the
politicians, they are to ones that brought in the supplementary banning
orders, etc. OR if they wish to blame the correct people for the legislation
surrounding attending football matches, etc, blame the fucking idiots whose
behaviour brought about the change in the first place.
I have experience with dealing with the CPS and they apply exactly the same
logic and vigour to any case, ie, they always go for the most serious
offence, if they don't it gets thrown out. Just for the record, it is not
the CPS that decides upon the punishment, that is down to Magistrates and
Judges.
If they really want to know who get discriminated / persecuted by the
british legal system the most they should try to find a middle class person
who has insurance, tax, etc and gets caught speeding by a camera on a quiet
road in perfect conditions at 1mph over the limit.
--------------------------------------------------
From: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2010 1:40 AM
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: [LU] Of interest?
SIT DOWN, SHUT UP: ARE FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST?
From the FSF
Vibe Bar, London, Thursday March 4 2010, 7pm
Every day, the FSF hears from fans telling us that they're sick of being
treated like criminals by over-zealous police, tired of taking orders from
doormen dressed up as 'stewards', and had enough with clubs forcing them
to sit down when they'd rather stand. Is this now the typical match-day
experience?
Sit Down, Shut Up: Are Football Supporters Discriminated Against? is the
FSF's free Question Time-style debate and gives you, the match-going fan,
your opportunity to tell it how you see it to our expert panel of football
journalists, police, and solicitors.
Why are football supporters treated differently from other groups in
society? Go to Wembley for a pop concert and you can stand without fear of
ejection. Head to a rugby league match and you can drink in your seat but
try that at a football game and you'll get a criminal record. Why does
the Crown Prosecution Service push for the most severe punishment in most
cases involving football fans? Would this not be illegal if they followed
this procedure with any other group in society? Are we seeing the return
of the dreaded section 27?
Have we reached a tipping point and what role can we all play in improving
things for the better?
We really hope you can make it - the event takes place at Brick Lane's
Vibe Bar on Thursday March 4 2010 (7pm kick-off). To register email your
name to [email protected]
Panellists: As any manager will tell you a team is only as good as its
individuals and likewise Sit Down, Shut Up: Are Football Supporters
Discriminated Against? is only as good as its guests and we've got no
worries on that score. Your hostess with the mostest for the evening will
be Amanda Jacks, FSF policing and stewarding lead, introducing a cracking
panel featuring:
Tony Evans will chair the event. As well as being a Liverpool fan Tony is
also Football Editor at The Times and a regular guest on his newspaper's
excellent The Game podcast.
Duleep Allirajah is Sports Columnist for spiked "an independent online
phenomenon dedicated to raising the horizons of humanity by waging a
culture war of words against misanthropy, priggishness, prejudice,
luddism, illiberalism and irrationalism in all their ancient and modern
forms". Amen to that!
David Bohannan heads up the Home Office's football unit.
Tony Conniford is Assistant Director of the UK Football Policing Unit, a
position he's held since 2002, and prior to that spent 30 years working
for Essex Police. He's been involved in policing football since 1996, and
has worked at the previous three World Cups, two European Championships,
and five Champions League finals.
Henry Porter is a civil liberties campaigner, novelist, and Observer
columnist. He's so famous he's even got his own Wikipedia entry and also
backed our campaign against section 27.
James Welch is a solicitor and has been the Legal Director of Liberty
since February 2000. Liberty is a campaigning organisation which seeks to
protect civil liberties and has worked extensively with the FSF in
campaigning against the use of section 27.
Date and venue: Sit Down, Shut Up: Are Football Supporters Discriminated
Against? is being held in Brick Lane's Vibe Bar on Thursday March 4 2010.
The event will kick-off at 7pm and lasts for 90 minutes, with a 15 minute
half-time break for refreshments. We're sure you're familiar with that
format. If everything goes as well as we hope there might even be some
Extra Time!
Located at the Old Truman Brewery, 91-95 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL and
established in 1995 the Vibe Bar is one of the East End's longest running,
and best-loved drinking dens. The closest Underground stations are
Liverpool Street and Aldgate East.
Registration is totally free, simply reply with your full name to
[email protected]. Every person who registers in advance also gets a
free drink.
It's by no means compulsory to ask a question but if you do have something
burning inside that you can't wait to get off your chest then we'd love to
hear from you! Submit your questions in advance so our panellists have an
idea of the issues that will arise although, in true Question Time-style,
they won't be told the exact question (which will be selected randomly if
we receive too many!).
Finally, we'd like to make it clear that this invite is open to all, FSF
member or not, so please feel free to send it on to anyone who might be
interested.
_______________________________________________
the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators
accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors.
Leedslist mailing list
[email protected]
http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist
www.leedslist.net
