“How Caroline Nokes MP and right-wing Tory extremists have terrorised my family and used political policing to pervert the course of justice.”
Statement by Matt O’Connor, founder, Fathers4Justice, in relation to this weeks events.
Dear supporter,
For the last 6 months, my family has been subject to a frightening and traumatic campaign of what appears to be political intimidation by right-wing extremists linked to the Romsey Conservative Party and the MP for Romsey and Southampton North, Caroline Nokes. This campaign has been violent, threatening and targeted our home, our 8-yr-old son, his school, our business and every aspect of our lives.
This has been an unprecedented and co-ordinated assault on my family, and in turn Fathers4Justice, by political forces determined to silence us by all means necessary. I have remained silent over these last 6 months in the hope that the Police would act in an open, honest and transparent manner and bring the perpetrators to justice. This has not happened and this weeks Police report and subsequent incident means I cannot remain silent any longer.
To date, Hampshire Police have failed to take any meaningful action to protect my family or investigate these matters. In fact, they have conspired to conceal the involvement of the MP in a violent attack on my home and taken no action on several outstanding offences, including an anonymous hate letters we received threatening to have our son removed by social services.
Now, Hampshire Police have revealed their true intentions in an attempt to deflect attention from their own report that confirms the involvement of Caroline Nokes MP in an attack on my home.
UNLAWFUL ARREST
This week, I was unlawfully arrested and detained by officers from Hampshire Police outside my house in what was a politically motivated arrest and attempt to discredit my family in relation to our complaints about political policing in Hampshire.
I had my face smashed into a wall, I was violently handcuffed and then detained for 11 hours over manufactured allegations that I had caused ‘harassment, alarm and distress’ in Stockbridge High Street.
In reality, I was alone on Stockbridge High Street when I was approached by Police officers who challenged me over my criticisms of Hampshire Police and a recently published report upholding my complaint about the actions of the police in relation to covering up the involvement of Caroline Nokes MP in an attack on my house in February.
They appeared to be aggrieved about the report and the action being taken against the police officers involved. As my defence will show, they set about deliberately engineering a situation in the High Street where I could be arrested. We have video evidence to support our position that we have been advised not to hand over to the Police at this stage pending further action by us.
Hampshire Police have since contacted local media (who coincidentally chose not to report the attack on my home) and falsely stated that I was arrested and charged for ‘using foul and abusive language’. This is incorrect and deliberately misleading. The only Police witness, Pamela Bailey, (who I did not see) contradicts the evidence of the Police officer who accuses me of ‘swearing’. She states that I did not use offensive language. In fact I was charged with ‘causing harassment, alarm or distress’. Again, we have evidence to suggest officers manufactured these allegations.
Since this incident, Hampshire Police have maintained a disproportionate presence at my house and attempted to coerce and harass my wife (F4J Campaign Director, Nadine O’Connor), to hand over the video of my arrest by repeatedly visiting my house despite repeated requests not to do so.
INCIDENT AT MY HOME
Contrast the response of Hampshire Police to these trumped up charges, with that of their failure to bring any charges against the MP at the well documented incident at my home on the 20th February 2014.
COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION
If the Police or supporters of the MP believe that this weeks events are some kind of ‘victory’ for them, they will be sorely mistaken. I welcome the opportunity to bring these serious matters and allegations to the attention of the public and Basingstoke Court on Tuesday 23rd September and I trust that in due course Hampshire Police and Caroline Nokes MP will be held to account by the court of public opinion over the real issues at play here.
HAMPSHIRE POLICE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS REPORT
These incidents have all happened within hours of the police releasing their own internal Professional Standards Report that confirmed that 3 Hampshire Police officers deliberately concealed the involvement of Caroline Nokes MP in a politically motivated attack on my family home.
This information directly contradicts public claims made by the MP that she was not present.
The report concludes that Hants Police were more concerned about ‘social media’ and protecting the reputation of the MP and their Police force, than protecting my family. This from a force universally condemned for the disproportionate response regarding Ashya King’s parents.
The report upholds our central complaint that disclosure about the role of Caroline Nokes MP in the incident should have been made and states, “clearly officers would have had her role (Caroline Nokes) as a Member of Parliament in their minds when making their decisions as she was connected to this incident” and that Inspector Paul Pressley had already confirmed in writing that “Caroline Nokes was treated as a witness by the police to the incident on 20th Feb.”
In addition to the report, Chief Inspector Dave Winter said in a meeting with Matt O’Connor on 22nd August 2014 that, “She (Nokes) drives him there with the purpose of serving papers, that is not enough to make her guilty of joint enterprise of assaulting you.” We will be addressing the full content and legal ramifications of this report with our lawyers and inform you of our response in due course.
POLITICAL VENDETTA
This political vendetta appears to emanate from the shared parenting promises Caroline Nokes MP broke after the 2010 General Election and the subsequent dispute that ensued between the parties about her betrayal. Instead of engaging in responsible, democratic debate, Nokes has used her fathers role as leader of Hampshire County Council and her relationship with Chief Constable Andy Marsh (who was investigated earlier this year for leaking information to the MP about the Stanbridge Earls child sex abuse scandal) to pervert the very course of justice she proclaims to stand for.
To date, Hants Police have failed to investigate the following incidents correctly or in accordance with the law over the last 6 months:
* Incident at my home on 20/2/14 where Caroline Nokes MP should have been arrested and interviewed under the Joint Enterprise Law
* Campaign of harassment and intimidation targeting our family, business, our 8-yr-old son and his school
* Anonymous hand written hate letter, threatening to have social services remove our son and additional malicious communications received on 3rd September 2014
* Telephone Death Threats
* A provocative letter posted through our door stating that local Tories will hold a fundraising party for the MP 2 doors down from us on 20th September
* Allegations that this 6 month long campaign is politically motivated and dates back to 2013 when we first raised this matter with Hampshire Police force solicitor, Roger Trencher.
The distress and impact that these events have had on our family and children means that none of us feel safe in our own home.
Hampshire Police have failed to take any appropriate action to bring the perpetrators to justice and have left my family at risk of continuing attacks. Worst still, they have perverted the course of justice by conspiring to conceal the involvement of an incumbent MP in an incident at my home and chosen to smear my family and Fathers4Justice instead.
We have a right to stand up for our shared parenting objectives and hold MPs to account over election promises without fear of reprisals from right-wing Tory extremists.
No MP is above the law and nobody should underestimate our determination to bring those responsible to justice, no matter how difficult this is, or how long it takes.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
Matt O’Connor, Founder, Fathers4Justice
