Are You On My Side, Mr Gove?

Sometimes you fight so hard for something that you almost convince yourself that there is no way it can go wrong, or you could lose, or it could fail. But you can't win everything all the time, so you pick yourself back up and try again.

But what about when that fight has been for someone or something else? What if it hasn't been your fight but you have been a part of a team all fighting for the same cause? That means that picking up after something goes wrong isn't just about you - and you don't get to decide what the response is. You might be filled with energy and anger and want to stand from the rooftops and scream, but really you know you can't do that. Maybe it's not your place. Maybe doing that is actually against the rules and could cause more problems.

In my case this past week has been one of those weeks. A battle that I was part of, that we - the team - should have won - did not go to plan. I cannot give details about it because it was a criminal case and those involved were children, so I must (both morally and legally) not publicly disclose any information about it. I can only talk in general and ask people to rely on their trust of me when I say it was a miscarriage of justice, a wrongful conviction (yes, of a child) and the consequences could be so far reaching it makes me feel sick to even think about it.

So what can I do? Doing "nothing" is not an option because I know that changes to our legal systems are needed. What I can say is that the past few months have seen clear evidence of false allegations, dishonest and even corrupt policing, incompetent CPS, and ludicrous court room failure. And it has been committed with such casual comfort I can't decide whether I am more angry that it has happened or that so many people have been able to do it without any conscience whatsoever. From the original lies told right up to the bias in the judgement: I genuinely cannot believe that what has happened could be in the "public interest", let alone proven beyond doubt.

So the answer is simple, in mind at least.

I can't change the case. The Laws don't need changing. But those who enact those laws need challenging, and the way our legal system is a slave to targets and political pressure needs to be challenged.

"Lessons must be learnt" is a phrase that makes me scream because it suggests that we should just shrug our shoulders, have a nice meeting, and pretend it never happened.

No.

I want heads to roll. I want accountability on an individual level. I do not want the entire Police Force to be besmirched by the faults and corruption of the few. But one man will be hearing from me because all of this happens on his watch.

Michael Gove was the reason I finally left teaching, so he is not exactly my favourite politician. (I am entering the "Understatement of the Year"). Of course, I will be supporting the aforementioned case and the family it affects throughout the appeals and whatever comes with that, but I am not the solicitor or legal team, so I don't lead the way on that. So I have my own mission that although being driven by t hat case, intends to be far wider reaching.

I want false allegations and the sheer damage they cause, especially to children, to be recognised, discussed, debated and proactively addressed. God forbid anyone dares to utter "lessons must be learnt...."

I know many people who have been affected by there issues. I have worked for FACT and I currently do for FASO. With a colleague I am setting up PCJ, but this battle is something I will do in my own name because I need to be free to express my personal opinions without need to keep checking myself for staying within the remit of groups I support.

Let's force Michael Gove to recognise, acknowledge, and commit to acting upon the issues of false allegations. Let's hold Michael Gove to account for not holding those to account I invite anyone to join me in this conquest and I will be giving details in what I intend to do. But the overall objective to is I intend to He will not be allowed to fob me off, or just give me party political promises. He might be Chief Whip, but he shall be reminded that he works for US, THE PEOPLE, even those most of us never voted Tory, and certainly never voted for him. in the CPS, the Police and the public who should be facing consequences for their wrongs.

If you are with me, email me at colinward18@hotmail.com where I can share with you what I aim to do in more detail. The first thing we will do, however, is contact your local MP and get them on board. If you need help writing that email, just let me know. But in the meantime...

...are you on my side?

#MichaelGove #Justice #FalselyAccused #Miscarriage #wrongfulconviction