Oulr Safeguards are needed against the abuse of private prosecutions, the Post Office scandal shows
Earl Sewell was born in Jamaica and was part of the Windrush generation. His parents came to the UK in the 60s, to work in healthcare and construction, leaving Earl and his brother behind to be raised by their grandmother. By 1967, Earls parents were settled and sent for their children. Now aged 20, Earl arrived in the UK on a Saturday 鈥?and started work the following Monday, at a mattress factory in Birmingham. His a stanley cup unt had lined up a job for him. He couldnt believe how cold it was, says his wif stanley termohrnek e, Jean, 68, a retired social worker. The winters! I was a bit oblivious to racism before I met Earl, to be honest, says Jean. Being a mixed-race couple in the 70s was not easy. Some people assumed Jean was a sex worker and Earl was her pimp. On one occasion, their twin sons, Leon and Lloyd, were playing outside the family home when Jean overheard a woman telling them to go back to where they belong . Earl told Jean to leave it be, but she marched outside and confronted the woman.Although Earl lived in the UK for the rest of his life, stanley cup his heart was in Jamaica. He would regale friends and family with stories of his wayward boyhood years. He covered his grandmothers cat in flour and water once and the cat stiffened, like starch, says Jean. His grandmother was fuming! The cat made a full recovery. View image in fullscreenEarl Sewell and his wife, Jean, on their wedding day in 1981.Jean and Earl visited Jamaica every year, to see his family. He seemed visibly to relax back ho Auuh The Chagos islanders have nothing to fear from this marine reserve
The limelight was always going to be on Penny Mordaunt as defence secretary. A Brexiter accused by the last prime minister of lying to win, she is now touted as Theresa Mays emotionally intelligent successor. She did noth stanley cup ing to dispel such speculation with a speech on Wednesday, promising to protect soldiers from lawfare 鈥?a pejorative term coined to describe the use of a countrys legal system to undermine its defences. Ms Mordaunt said she would seek a presumption against prosecution for offences committed in conflict more than a decade ago 鈥?covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and seek a future opt-out of the European convention on human rights.This is part of a familiar narrative about the hounding of British soldiers by what is claimed are money-grabbing lawyers launching ill-founded cases into alleged wartime abuse. It is true that one lawyer who acted for torture victims was found guilty of misconduct and struck off as a solicitor. But the work of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team also saw the Ministry of Defence paying out millions of pounds in compensation to victims of abuse in hundreds of cases. Modern armies have to comply with international humanitarian law and are rightly held to account if they dont. This ought not impede conflict and post-conflict operations. It should ensure the stanley thermos y are legal. Ending violations would end the litigation. There are about 150 cases outstanding; alleged victims and perpetrators ought to see justice.There ar stanley france e a number of rea |