Vera Baird DBE KC

Chair Criminal Cases Review Commission. Member Women’s Justice Bd.
Ex Victims’ Commissioner, Solicitor Gen & PCC. Fellow St Hilda’s Oxford. Writer. Labour Party

Category: BLOG

Britain Needs A Pay Rise – TUC Campaign
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird is encouraging people to support the TUC as it urges ‘Britain needs a pay rise’.
This Saturday, 18 October, a march supporting the living wage takes place in London with other demonstrations also happening across the country.
Vera Baird said: “I’m supporting the TUC’s principal of the demonstration which is quite simple – that as growth returns to the UK economy, everyone should get a fairer share in this recovery.
“People are currently facing the biggest squeeze on their incomes since Victorian times and wages have fallen in real terms every year since 2010.
“I’m delighted that within my office and Northumbria Police we’ve already embraced many of the principles of this campaign.
“The TUC is campaigning for a commitment to the living wage and we can give a resounding tick to that, as every employee in Northumbria Police is now paid at least the living wage.”
Mrs Baird said the cleaning contract was recently brought back ‘in house’, allowing the cleaners’ salaries to be increased from the minimum wage to the living wage.
She said contracts issued by Northumbria Police or her office had a clause built in that the staff working on the scheme on our behalf must be paid the living wage.
“There are no ifs or buts, it’s a requirement we insist on to ensure those working within the supply chain of Northumbria Police at least get the living wage,” the Commissioner said.
“This increase shows how we value all our staff and it also helps the local economy as moving from the minimum wage to the living wage will give staff more disposable income.
“We all have a duty to support our employees and if a business can afford to pay a higher wage than the minimum wage, they should consider doing so.
“I’m not looking at this through rose tinted glasses and fully appreciate that some businesses would struggle to pay higher salaries, but many wouldn’t and it is those businesses which can make a difference to their employees that have a duty to do so.”
The minimum wage was introduced by Tony Blair through the National Minimum Wage Act in 1998 and has helped at least 1.5 million people.
Since October 2013, the Government has published the names of employers who did not pay the minimum wage and the TUC has called on the Government to publicly name and shame those companies more widely. Additionally there are calls for HMRC to have more resources to help them identify more companies who are not paying the minimum wage.
The Commissioner said: “This Saturday will send a clear message to the Government and employers about the differences implementing a living wage can have – while ensuring all meet the minimum wage.
“Here at Northumbria we are leading the way, as are many companies in the north east, and we now need to ensure that all businesses pay the legal requirement of the minimum wage and where possible increase the payment to the living wage and I hope others will join with their support for the living wage.
“If you haven’t already done so please pledge your support to the ‘Britain needs a pay rise’ march, a simple Tweet can show your support #18oct”
October 16, 2014
The Guardian – 26th September 2014. “Police Commissioners seek inquiry…”
North East Police & Crime Commissioners say Judge Moorhouse\’s lax sentence told women that \”male judges will not protect them\”
Read more by clicking here www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/26/police-commissioners-inquiry-judge-leniency-domestic-abuse
September 26, 2014
North East Commissioners call for Judge to be investigated.
Commissioners call for Judge to be investigated
The north east’s three Police and Crime Commissioners are calling on the Judicial Conduct and Investigations Office to investigate a Teesside Judge who let down a victim of domestic abuse.
It follows the court case of a 34-year-old man, who was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and given a 12 month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the man had terrorised his wife by biting and throttling her, before holding a knife to her throat and shooting her in the toe during a terrifying attack.
Even after the police became involved, the man attempted to intimidate the victim to drop the charges but the victim went ahead and ensured the matter was dealt with by the courts.
Sadly, the court and Judge George Moorhouse did not deliver for this victim of domestic abuse and the three Commissioners – Northumbria’s Vera Baird, Barry Coppinger from Cleveland and Durham’s Ron Hogg – feel the sentence was unduly lenient.
Vera Baird said: “Judge Moorhouse does not appreciate that he has a role to play in stopping the epidemic crime of domestic violence and abuse. This sentence sends out the totally wrong message to victims of this crime.”
Mrs Baird added: “Barry Coppinger, Ron Hogg and myself have worked hard to deliver a regional strategy to help protect women and girls who are affected by domestic violence and abuse.
“We’ve changed the culture in how the police deal with such cases and our partners work much closer together to offer support and guidance to victims, then we are let down by the courts with lenient sentences like this.”
In a letter to the Judicial Conduct and Investigations Office, the three Commissioners say Judge Moorhouse needs to be accountable for his actions and to understand that his conduct is not acceptable.
They said the Judge had sent out the wrong message to women not just in the north east but across the country that male judges will not take a role in protecting them or deterring the crime from which they suffer.
The Commissioners also feel that all Judges should undergo training to learn about the effects of domestic abuse and how it hurts both the victims and their families.
Vera Baird added: “I don’t want victims of domestic abuse to be put off from telling the police what is happening to them.
“We’ve dedicated police staff who will help and support victims. We are on the side of victims and will continue to support them in every way we can.
“There are good Judges who give proper verdicts that fit the crime and we now need to make sure all Judges are of the same mindset.”
September 26, 2014
Commissioner joins stars of the stage and screen in support of ending rape and sexual violence in Burma
Commissioner joins stars of the stage and screen in support of ending rape and sexual violence in Burma
Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird has joined forces with well-known names from the world of stage, comedy and music.
She has joined Maureen Lipman, Dame Judi Dench, Jo Brand and Annie Lennox in support to end rape and sexual violence in Burma
A new report by the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) ‘Same Impunity, Same Pattern’, highlights the continuing use of sexual violence against minority women by the Burmese military.
Ethnic women and girls suffer horrific sexual abuse while military perpetrators enjoy guaranteed impunity.
When Vera Baird was a Member of Parliament, she used to Chair the All Parliamentary Group for Burma and her interest in the country has remained ever since.
Mrs Baird said: “Burma needs the support of developed countries and we all have a duty to stand up to support the women of Burma in their struggle to end rape and sexual violence.”
The Commissioner added: “Celebrities from the world of stage, comedy, music and politics have joined together to support a list of demands which have been made by the women of Burma.”
These demands include:
· An international investigation into rape and sexual violence by the Burmese military against ethnic women and girls.
· An end to impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in Burma.
· Amendment of the 2008 constitution that guarantees impunity for military perpetrators, so further sexual violence can be prevented.
· The inclusion of women in the peace negotiations between the Burmese Government and the ethnic armed political groups, where the issue of rape and sexual violence in conflict is properly addressed.
· The inclusion of women at every political level in Burma.
· Burma’s rape law to be in line with international human rights standards to outlaw rape in marriage.
· The British Government should provide funding for the Women’s League of Burma and its members to support their work in documenting cases of rape and providing support for victims of sexual violence.
Northumbria’s Commissioner has also asked the Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening to support the campaign.
September 26, 2014
My response to an article on Liberty website.
I recently read an article entitled \”Skewed Priorities\” https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/news/latest-news/skewed-priorities on the Liberty Human Rights website. It was important that I addressed a number of the points they raised, below is my reply.
I read with interest the article entitled \”Skewed Priorities\” by Liberty\’s Emma Norton and felt that as Police & Crime Commissioner for Northumbria I had to respond to ensure all the facts were in the public domain and the importance of Northumbria Police launching an inquiry into \”no criming\”
She writes that Northumbria Police \’has had to announce\’ that 11 rape allegations previously recorded as “no crimes” are going to be reinvestigated.\’ How they have \’had\’ to do so is important. It is far from new that the police \’no crime\’ rapes, in questionable circumstances. It has been happening, nationwide, for many years, publicised by campaigners, usually relying on individual or client experience or disparity of figures between forces – and yet no force before has \’had to announce\’ a reinvestigation.
The difference this time is that Her Majesty\’s Inspectors of Constabulary now inspect from less of an internal police vantage point. The majority of Inspectors, since the advent of Tom Windsor, are drawn from a civilian scrutiny roles such as membership of the Audit Commission. There is only a minority of the former police who used to monopolise the organisation. Thus Inspectors have a better chance of seeing cases as members of the public might see them. That is because some of them are members of the public.
Added to that I, as the elected local Police and Crime Commissioner, can scrutinise police files when it is necessary for me to fulfil my role of ensuring that the police are carrying out the public\’s wishes. Those wishes are expressed through the statutory consultation each PCC is obliged to carry out and are digested into the five year local Police and Crime Plan, giving strategic direction to the force. Domestic and sexual abuse were a top priority of the Northumbria public. I read the entire year\’s \’no crimed rapes\’ and, as an experienced criminal lawyer, found 11 of them seriously wanting. To ensure the implementation of the Police and Crime Plan and the delivery of what the people have told me they want from the police, I control the police budget. This is a significant and little appreciated shift of power from the police towards the public. HMIC have an independent perspective and a systematic process, but they cannot enforce a response. Holding the police budget means that I can do exactly that.
Liberty could, therefore, be pleased with this development. It could welcome the news that a Senior Investigating Officer has been appointed in Northumbria, not only to re-investigate the alleged rapes themselves but, with the Professional Standards Department, to investigate the officers who \’no crimed\’ them in the first place. A more independent inspectorate, and tighter local oversight secured by the leverage of being elected and possessing financial power can forcefully challenge police attitudes on rape. A number of local rape and domestic violence activists welcomed, at last, the promise of change.
The problem is not performance statistics. There are no rape performance demands in Northumbria police, for good reasons around building the confidence to complain. All rapes must be recorded within 24 hours and those \’no crimed\’ are then recategorised. The statistics would not be significantly affected if 11 cases were wrongly \’no crimed\’ out of the 20,000 to 32,000 which, according to ONS, are reported, nationwide, in a typical year.
Ms Norton thinks this problem has been about –
\’protecting innocent men from false allegations\’. The Senior Investigating Officer will shortly tell us what it is all about, but we know the usual prejudices that are used in such matters, however, I have confidence that the force will look at all the evidence, ensuring that the victim is at the heart of the review.
The Chief Constable has taken a strong stance in moving senior detectives from the department and serving some with notices of serious misconduct. This is not moving the deckchairs round while the Titanic goes down. The entire force knows what has happened and why. A strong signal is being sent that outmoded attitudes to rape are now as unacceptable in the police force as they have been to victims and the organisations that support them.
Her Majesty\’s Inspectorate of Constabulary read a sample of \’no crimed\’ rapes from every force in the country and will shortly publish some early results. We should all be watching to see if other areas react with the same determination and rigour that has marked Northumbria\’s response.
August 27, 2014
Refuge Provision – At Crisis Point?
Why should she have to leave her home because of his violence?
Because she wants to stay alive is the answer, and she wants her children to stay alive too. The reality is that women experiencing domestic violence \”choose\”, every day, to flee to refuges because they can\’t tolerate anymore the psychological and physical abuse they are experiencing. They are victims who have done their own risk assessment and they know that outreach work and extra security measures will not keep them safe and they want the things most of us take for granted simple things like the ability to sleep. Often women who go to a refuge haven\’t had a good nights sleep in years. They are exhausted and terrified. They\’ve often been woken from their sleep and raped repeatedly or they\’ve been kept awake all night by their abuser interrogating them or just lain in bed terrified of his key in the door.
Perhaps some commissioners of services for victims of domestic violence from local councils across the country fail to \’get\’ domestic abuse. They commission \’efficient\’ forms of support, such as outreach preventative work and support in the community rather than what victims actually need. Although current commissioning has to stretch meagre funding in the current crisis, offering victims an hour or two a week of outreach support will not make them safe. The nature of domestic violence is a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviours intended to undermine the victim and it often takes a safe haven and substantial support for recovery
Commissioners of DV services buy into the stigma around refuges, they think they wouldn\’t want to stay in a refuge so why would anyone else? They fail to value the expertise of domestic violence refuges, they fail to comprehend the isolation and trauma of victims and don\’t understand how valuable peer support in refuges is and how vital feeling safe and learning to relax again is to victim\’s recovery. No victim of domestic violence can relax in their home if we leave them unsupported with a perpetrator who knows where they are and can continue to stalk and terrorise them.
Statistically, by far the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship and when a women and her children are most likely to be killed is when she seeks help. It is crucial that she is able to leave her home and find a confidential place of safety away from the perpetrator. Without that women will be forced to return to the perpetrator just to ensure that she and her children are not homeless.
Commissioners are also increasingly stating in service specifications a \’local women only\’ rule. But perpetrators of domestic violence will go to extraordinary lengths to find their ex-partner and reassert their control over them, Women often have to move cross-country to get safely away. I am a trustee of Eaves which used to run refuges in Westminster and I was visiting once when a victim arrived, with her little boy, exhausted having fled from Burnley from a violent partner who swore that if he could not have her nobody would. From a policing perspective, the ability to quickly move people around the country via a network of refugees is invaluable. Preventing this movement, and effectively trapping women dangerously near to the perpetrator at an extremely dangerous time is unacceptable. We need to remember always that two women a week die at the hands of a current or ex-partner.
Commissioners thinking that family and friends can accommodate victims again shows a disturbing lack of knowledge of how abusive men behave. Northumbria Police have experience of perpetrators turning up at A&E threatening staff, threatening family members and friends, sending death threats by mobile phone for the victim to return home. Any suggestion that victims should use family and friends as a safe haven will be doomed to failure and could place those same family members in danger.
Refuges provide much more than a safe bed. They allow the police to work with survivors in a safe environment and in many circumstances a skilled refuge worker can encourage a victim to support a prosecution. Police services have strong links with their local refuges and find that if victim feels safer she is more likely to engage with them increasing successful prosecutions. In addition officers often see that victims find strength in numbers and the support of fellow survivors. Refuge workers skills are often invaluable and including working with the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference and officers in Northumbria can quote many example of the refuge workers working to keep victims safe, including attending the police station at 3am.
For some women their personal situation means that they need specialist skills and support before they are able to live independently and the refuge can provide this.
They may suffer from PTSD or other mental or physical health difficulties caused by the abuse. Their children may need support with similar problems. Women may need practical help and support to find work, manage money, or even make basic day-to-day decisions, as the perpetrator may have controlled these aspects of her life. It can take six months or so to help them to rebuild their lives.
For others the family situation can be a major contributor to the violence and abuse. What if the whole family is abusive? What if the woman was brought to the UK and forced into marriage. The family are complicit in the rapes and beating that she is experiencing and may even support the abuser or resort to violence themselves if she fails to comply with the abuse and seeks help and support.
For these women, outreach work is no protection. How can a short stay in non-specialist accommodation enable someone with mental or physical difficulties escape a cycle of abuse?
How will support in the Community prevent you from being sent back to your country of origin to be murdered?
Recently, legislation has brought in Domestic Violence Protection Orders designed to exclude perpetrators to give victims of domestic violence a chance to think and to seek help and advice. In addition we have seen recent legislation making forced marriage illegal. Is there any point in creating protective measures for victims of domestic violence and putting new laws on the statute book to prosecute abusers if services are commissioned from people who do not understand domestic abuse and so there is nobody on the ground who trained to know anything about them?
August 5, 2014
Letting In The Light.
Northumbria’s Police & Crime Commissioner has been leading the way in helping inform the public about the work of Labour Police & Crime Commissioners.
In association with the Fabian Society, Britain’s oldest political think tank which was established in 1884, a collection of essays have been put together which highlights how democracy can bring the police closer to the public.
The document, attached, which is entitled \”LETTING IN THE LIGHT: LESSONS FROM LABOUR’S POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONERS\”
‘Letting in the Light: Lessons from Labour’s police and crime commissioners’, was edited by Northumbria’s Police & Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird QC, is a collection of essays on policing and community safety from the 13 Labour Police and Crime Commissioners.
In her introduction to the report Vera Baird describes the way in which the Labour Commissioners see their role as the “elected voice of the people” bringing \’ a significant shift of power towards the public\’ Commissioners provide oversight to “challenge any tendency, in such a powerful organisation, to prefer institutional self-interest over popular need”. She highlights controversies like Hillsborough, the clash between miners and police at Orgreave in 1984 and inaccuracies around the deaths of Jean Charles de Menezes, Ian Tomlinson and Mark Duggan as having damaged trust in the police.
Labour is committed to reforming the role of commissioners but Vera Baird agrees with Lord Stevens Independent Police Commission that, whatever variant is taken on “the next Labour government should not row back on democracy in policing.” and calls on political parties to learn from the “experience of the commissioners who have been leading policy on the ground”
Vera Baird, editor of ‘Letting in the Light’, said:
“It is opportune, 18 months after the elections of November 2012, to describe what progress Labour commissioners have made.
“This is not a paean of praise for the role but an account of the hands-on experience of policing governance which the commissioners intend to contribute as the party formulates its manifesto for the 2015 general election. I am proud to be Northumbria’s Commissioner and working with the Fabians has allowed me to showcase the good work that is happening in our region in offering support for victims of sexual and domestic abuse.
“Each Labour commissioner has worked hard to get the most benefit for the public from the role, even as funding for police and community safety has been cut further and further.”
‘Letting in the Light’ also includes contributions from:
• Alun Michael (South Wales) on doing more with less, while continuing to support communities and taking a whole person view of crime
• Mark Burns-Williamson (West Yorkshire) on reinvesting the confiscated proceeds of crime in local communities
• Ron Hogg (Durham) on tackling drug addiction
• Shaun Wright (South Yorkshire) on reoffending and restorative justice
• Tony Lloyd (Greater Manchester) on supporting those suffering with mental health issues
• Clive Grunshaw (Lancashire) on early intervention and prevention
• Paddy Tipping (Nottinghamshire) on reducing alcohol related crime
• Jane Kennedy (Merseyside) on supporting victims of domestic violence
• Vera Baird (Northumbria) on embedding support for victims of sexual and domestic violence
• Alan Charles (Derbyshire) on raising the profile of wildlife crime
• Bob Jones (West Midlands) on working in partnership to reduce transport crime
• Olly Martins (Bedfordshire) on joint working between police forces
• Barry Coppinger (Cleveland) on the wide range of activities of a police and crime commissioner
‘Letting in the Light’ is dedicated to Bob Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, who contributed to the pamphlet before he passed away in July 2014
Link to the essays –
http://www.fabians.org.uk/publications/letting-in-the-light/
August 4, 2014
Frances Andrade – Learning Lessons, Getting It Right First Time (Huffington Post)
All of us in the criminal justice world have to work together now to make sure that there never is another death, like that of Frances Andrade, who died in circumstances that point to it being very nearly a direct consequence of becoming a witness in a sexual abuse case and finding it unbearable.
First, it is clear that a police officer somewhere, disastrously, convinced Ms Andrade, probably at an early stage, that if she has counselling it might interfere with her recollections and damage her evidence. The inquest heard that she said that to her GP, to a nurse and her husband and son have confirmed it. She seems to have been told otherwise later, but one assumes she determined that the case came first, at least her suffering might protect the next generation of music students from the defendant if she could testify well. Her son, Oliver, reinforces this when in an article for the Huffington Post in February 2013 he said \”Sticking to her morals she knew she must do what was right, to tell the facts as they were and leave it to the law to decide, even as she was only just beginning to see that Brewer\’s actions were indeed abuse.
\”One of her hopes was that the bravery she exhibited, and the other stories she knew would come out during the trial, would mean that other students who had also suffered abuse at Chetham\’s would be able to receive justice. As always she was fighting for others more than herself\”.
Many victims have been advised similarly not to seek support in the past, an approach both cold-hearted and unwise. That it still exists in policing is evidenced by the former superintendent who is Surrey Police and crime commissioner who said on the airwaves about this case:
\’It is the responsibility of the police to present evidence to the court with a victim in a way that is untainted. that means they will not and should not refer a victim for counselling until after they have given their evidence\”
Never again should that happen. Not only should the complainant\’s recovery be paramount, but it is hack psychology and insulting to jurors. There is a risk that counselling notes be disclosed but judges determine that and are getting clearer that they are rarely of relevance. Frances Andrade not untypically, knew that she was going to give evidence for about two years and \’was left to cope alone\’ as her son told the Coroner
Mr Andrade said that his wife was \’utterly traumatised\’ by the experience of giving evidence and felt that the barrister cross examining was attacking her personally. She told her friend that she felt as though she had been raped again in court. The defendant said that she was a fantasist,\’largely living a fantasy life\’ and presumably that was suggested to her in evidence. In 2013 the Bar Council resolved to \”encourage\’ the development of training for cross examination and the judge in this case said that the defence barrister \’was perfectly proper and correct in her examination of all the witnesses\’
But although excellent work has been done by the Criminal Bar Association and others especially through the Advocates\’ Gateway, which promotes \’toolkits\’ for cross examining, especially for children in sex cases, the Serious Case Review, lead by Professor Hilary Brown called for criminal justice professionals better to recognise the vulnerability of survivors when facing their accusers in court. There is no option but to treat a complainant as a true complainant in this way and it ought to have been self-evident to the judge and the barrister, who clearly did not treat her as vulnerable, that:
\’Historic abuse is always a present source of difficulty and distress to those who have been victimised\’ as the SCR reiterated. Victims statements used by the court which sentenced Rolf Harris gave some flavour of the impact. Victims lives were ruined, one victim turned to drink to blank out the memories and clearly Ms Andrade faced difficulties testifying in a case she had not inititated but which must have brought horrible memories back to life
She told her family that she felt she was not prepared enough for the trial, not expecting to be attacked or to have to answer so many direct questions, in public. She is quoted saying
\’I can see why nobody comes forward. I can see how people crack under the pressure\’
Most Police, at some stage, are trained to give evidence. Expert witnesses learn how to testify and deal with cross examination. The defendant in a trial prepares his evidence in detail, including rehearsals with his defence team. There is no criticism of an exercise in presenting the best of what they lawyers are told is a true case. The only person who doesn\’t know what to expect and isnt trained to cope is the victim/complainant. They get \’familiarisation training\’ subject to strict rules laid down by the Court of Appeal to avoid any influence on their evidence. They are told which is the judge and where the jury sits and a little bit more. Alison Saunders, the new DPP seems to get the point that that isn\’t enough. Why should complainants not be told what the defence is? Why should they be left to find out on the hoof that a barrister might suggest that they are a fantasist. Even more strongly should they know that, in a sexual abuse case, they are likely to be asked, as Ms Andrade obviously was, in excruciating detail about intimate events to see whether a dot or a comma has changed in their account since they gave a police statement.
Police forces across the country are working hard to improve the service they give to victims.The CPS has specialists for these cases. The judges are currently getting training about vulnerable witnesses. They will ensure that the protection for a victim and fairness to a defendant do not undermine one another. Everyone understands that the defendant is on trial for grave crime, facing ruin and worse and that he must get fairness. What is needed is a victims\’ eye view put into the middle of this which shakes them all out of the legal mindset and helps us all to understand the service to the public that the criminal justice process is intended to be. it did not serve Frances Andrade well.
Here in Northumbria we will be appointing Court Observers. The role of the panel will be collating and publishing their observations of how the cases are tried to see how well the courts are working to improve the trial of sexual offences. This will include considering whether a victim is provided with appropriate support in court and the use of myths and stereotypes about rape and abuse rather than focusing on facts.
To complement the work of the panel we will also be establishing a Police Rape Scrutiny Panel. This panel will scrutinise case files which have failed to attain the requisite evidential level of prosecution or where a prosecution has failed and look for lessons to learn. I hope these actions will be seen as a success and implemented by other Police & Crime Commissioners. Between us we can ensure that lesson are learnt from Frances case and her memory lives on in ensuring others get the right support first time.
Follow Vera Baird QC on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@northumbriapcc
August 1, 2014
Guardian article by Nicholas Watt – regarding Butler-Sloss. Published 14/7/14 – 9.56am
Ex-solicitor general urges Butler-Sloss to stand down from child abuse inquiryVera Baird says judge should withdraw as her panel would have to examine if her brother played down abuse claims.
A former solicitor general has called on Lady Butler-Sloss to stand down as chair of the inquiry into child abuse over a family conflict of interest.
Vera Baird, the police and crime commissioner for Northumbria who served as Labour\’s solicitor general from 2007 to 2010, said the home secretary, Theresa May, had made an error in appointing Butler-Sloss because her brother had served as attorney general in the 1980s.
Butler-Sloss, a former president of the family division of the high court, has faced intense pressure since her appointment last week because her brother, the late Sir Michael Havers, served as Margaret Thatcher\’s attorney general from 1979 to 1987. The Butler-Sloss panel would have to examine whether Havers played down allegations of child abuse during that period.
Baird told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 on Monday: \”If she were in a court case presiding over it and her brother were mentioned as someone she may have to investigate, she would of course withdraw due to a conflict of interest. The conflict of interest is even bigger here where we have a vulnerable community of people who say that they have been not allowed to get justice.
\”It is her task to look into it. It has got to be done by somebody who is an outsider to this, who is completely independent. Without wanting to descend totally to cliche, justice must not only be done but it has to be seen to be done.\”
Campaigners on child abuse last week called on Butler-Sloss, 80, to stand down after she was appointed by the home secretary to chair a panel of inquiry that would examine the extent to which public bodies failed to investigate allegations of child abuse. Alison Millar, a lawyer who is representing some of the victims of child abuse, likened the appointment of Butler-Sloss to asking a relative of the head of South Yorkshire police to chair the Hillsborough inquiry.
The retired judge faced renewed pressure over the weekend when the Times reported that she kept allegations about a bishop out of a review of how the Church of England dealt with two priests allegedly involved in paedophilia. Butler-Sloss reportedly told a victim that she did not want to name the bishop because \”the press would love a bishop\”. Bishop Peter Ball, the former bishop of Lewes and of Gloucester, was charged this year with indecent assault and misconduct in a public office.
Baird said Butler-Sloss\’s personal qualities were \”immaculate\”, but she added: \”Michael Havers [her brother] was attorney general from 1979 to 1987 and he then became lord chancellor. It would have been up to him, had there been reports coming through, as the chief law officer, to make sure they were investigated. I have no reason to know whether Michael Havers was ever given any information or whether he acted upon it or didn\’t. But she is going to have to investigate the role played by her late brother.\”
The former solicitor general added: \”The current issue surely is should somebody be investigating something in which their brother has been named, however he may in due course be exculpated? Is this going to satisfy this very vulnerable company of people who feel that the establishment has kept them out of justice already?
\”I think it is an error. I don\’t know if she, when agreeing to take it on, knew the implications for herself and for her family. She is a very dutiful person, she would feel she should take it on if she was asked to do so. The error is the home secretary\’s. It needs correcting.\”
Sir Mathew Thorpe, who served alongside Butler-Sloss in the court of appeal, acknowledged the concerns raised by Baird. But he said Butler-Sloss\’s record as a judge and as chair of the Cleveland child abuse inquiry put her in a strong position to chair the new panel.
Thorpe told the Today programme: \”Of course it [the conflict of interest] is a relevant consideration. But it has to be weighed against other relevant considerations, including her unrivalled qualities.
\”She has a high sense of duty to serve wherever her contribution may be of value. This is well illustrated by all the work she has done in the House of Lords, where she has been very active on all family justice issues.\”
July 14, 2014
Labour Women\’s Safety Conference
National plans making domestic and sexual violence a priority
Labour plans which would revolutionise the way sexual crimes are handled have been welcomed by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird.
The Commissioner, who has made domestic and sexual violence a priority in her Police and Crime Plan, was at Labour’s Women’s Safety Conference.
Delegates were discussing ways of improving justice for domestic and sex crimes, some of which have become more prevalent through the growth of the worldwide web, and improving women’s safety.
Key note speaker Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the insults levelled at teenage girls on a daily basis in schools could be easy to dismiss but were getting worse.
And it isn’t just abuse and harassment of girls and young women which is growing but violence in young relationships.
The British Crime Survey has shown 16-19-year-old girls being most at risk of domestic violence, with more than 10% experiencing violence or abuse in a relationship.
‘Revenge porn’, where an ex posts a half-naked photo or stalks the person online, and ‘sexting’, where young girls send ‘sexy and pouting’ pictures of themselves on their mobile phones, is also growing.
Yet delegates heard that while the number of reported domestic violence and rape crimes has gone up, the number of prosecutions have fallen since 2010.
Additionally legal aid reforms have made it difficult for women to afford the legal costs.
Vera Baird said: “It’s vital that changes are made not only in attitudes but our culture and that any woman or young girl suffering from any kind of abuse or violence comes forward to seek help.
“We all have a duty to stand up against these perpetrators and bring an end to their control and I fully support this call for action to prevent violence and change attitudes.
“I whole-heartedly agree that we cannot ignore online access to extreme and violent porn, which is changing young people’s perceptions of sex, and that education of young people to have a zero tolerance of violence in relationships is a key factor.”
The Commissioner said changes had already been made by Northumbria Police to make it easier for victims to come forward and that officers did all they can to make the reporting of these crimes as straightforward as possible, listening to all victims and taking action to help them.
Northumbria, together with neighbouring forces Durham and Cleveland, has introduced a new power – Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) -allowing police to take immediate action to ban a suspected perpetrator from the victim’s address for 48 hours.
“This gives any victim much needed breathing space providing them with the reassurance that they are safe and allowing them time to consider their options and get access to support services without pressure from the perpetrator,” Vera Baird said.
At the conference delegates called for a new law to tackle violence against women and Labour will be gathering information ready for the election.
This will reform the criminal justice system, bring in new national standards for policing and victim support and provide stronger prevention too.
“Violence in any relationship should never be tolerated and ending violence against women and girls is a personal priority for me.
“Any and every measure which can be made available to the police and other organisations which will help victims of what is sometimes a very hidden crime must be welcomed.”
July 8, 2014