Eya" from a London correspondent
With Claud Cockturn as editor of Private Eye, the Tory weeklies are turning on this influential satirical paper with characteristic venom, With a circulation around 90,000, "A Spectator's Notebook" comments on the paper in these terms: "Private Eye to judge by the svidence of its grey pages, is the organ of those sections of the middle-class intelligentsia which is backing the left to win, and which busily proletaricmising itself by dabbling in any filth that's going in order in with the new ruling class when the time comes} it is, in fact, sl (The Spectator August 23rd, page 222)
1696 pace wers Accuses POLICE OF FROM UP
This week's Peace News contains two interesting items concerning the activities of the police in reintion to demonstrators, etc, “Whilst the case of the alleged interference with correspondence has received some publicity because of letters appearing in the Guardian, the bisiness of the alleged framing of Donald Rooum has received none, We urge readers to make the facts widely known, Planting of brick | olice officer alleged based on Peace News report
eseeet00um was framed by a police officer, Detective Sergeant Challinor whe placed a brick with Rooum's property when he arrested him, and claimed to have found it in his pocket, He also gave Rooum a beating in the police cell and gave perjured evidence at the court hearing, The case against Rooum was dismissed chiefly becfSuse he had had the presence of mind = and enough money - to have the contents of his pocket analysed as soon as he was released from police custodyssees Fo One of the most disturbing things about the case was that the magisatr— ate did not award costs to Rooum -— which amounted to £150.....What happens in the cases of police frame—ups who cannot afford to pay sums like these? The official answer is that they can get legal aid, “but in practice even this can be quite arbitrarily denied...
Anyone who has been inside a British prison will know that the police frequently use force to extract confessions and give perjured evidence to obtain convictions when they think they have got the "right man." For the poor and underpriviloged, who have the most dealings with the police, the question of costs is the crucial one. Thero is no reason why costs should not automatically be granted to a defendant who is acquitted,
The silence of the press on Donal Reown's cases is another disturbing - though perhaps predictable -— thing. Press and radio gave considerable publicity to the fact that people had been arrested for carrying offensive woapons during the Greek visit demonstrations, Not a single ncotional paper reported Rooum's acquittal, though several of them had the case drawn to their attentions sere Lotter confirms interference with mail based on Peace News report
On Thursday, August 5th, a letter from Miss Jane Buxton, co-secretary of the Hampstead Committes of 100, appeared in the Guardian in which she criticised the way the police had handled her personal belongings confiscated during a search conducted by the Specinl Branch in June, They had been kept by them for over 6 wesks without giving Miss Buxton-a proper receipt. She also mantioned that members of the Committee had received letters which had taken threes and,in one case, six weeks to cross Londonypsesce
4s a result of this statement in the Guardian, Miss Buxton received the following letter: sil
Dear Miss Buxton, I shall have to do this anonymously in view of the Official Secrets Act, You may have euessed, or perhaps you knew, tut anyway I confirm, that the postal authorities can intercept letters at the final delivery office, They are sent to the Investigation Branch at GPO head=quarters by a special messenger who waits while thoy are examined and then returns the letters for normal delivery, No doubt this is what is happening to your mail, this one may slip through in, view of tho envolope, sand it is worth a try. You could put another Loto EPeBRE choice if it doese...
It was signed "11 wisher" and was in a Board of Trade envelope. Miss Buxton thinks that it came from somebody in a Government dopartmoent....Mies Tuxton and other members who have experienced delays are keeping the letters as evidence as they will try to got the matter raised in the House of Commons,
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