Category Archives: Legal

Britain, Government, Legal, Military

Criminal probe launched into bullying at military base

BRITAIN

Intro: 24 years after historic allegations of abuse at Deepcut military barracks, a criminal probe is launched by Surrey Police

POLICE have launched a criminal investigation into assault allegations surrounding the suicide of a young soldier at the notorious Deepcut barracks almost 24 years ago.

Private Sean Benton, 20, was the first of four British soldiers to die in shootings at the Princess Royal Barracks in Surrey between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying from more senior soldiers and other recruits.

A fresh inquest into Private Benton’s 1995 death ruled last year that he killed himself after being subjected to physical and psychological abuse.

He was found with five bullet wounds to the chest days after being “punched and kicked” by an instructor, leading to calls for a criminal prosecution.

Now, having reviewed evidence from the inquest in Woking, police have opened a new probe into allegations of assault and misconduct in public office.

The investigation was launched in October and has emerged as a fresh inquest into the death of another private, Geoff Gray, was opened earlier this week. It will cover a period from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s.

A spokesperson said: “Surrey Police reviewed the findings [of] the coroner and the Benton family’s request for a new criminal investigation into allegations including assault and misconduct in public office.

“A criminal investigation is under way into a number of allegations.” Three other recruits – Private Cheryl James, 18, Private Gray, 17, and Private James Collinson, 17 – also died at the base between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying and abuse.

Private Collinson, from Perth, was the fourth person to die at the barracks. He was found dead with a single gunshot wound through his chin on March 23, 2002. An inquest into his death in 2006 returned an open verdict.

The coroner at Private Benton’s inquest, Peter Rook QC, delivered a damning five-hour narrative verdict of suicide last June, describing the harsh treatment the soldier was subjected to at the barracks.

He said: “There was a toxic culture at Deepcut at which Sean was frequently the recipient of actions.” He added that Private Benton was often on the receiving end of punishments by senior officers.

The court heard that the recruit was ordered to carry out degrading exercises by one non-commissioned officer, Sergeant Andrew Gavaghan, who has repeatedly denied allegations of abusive behaviour.

This included Private Benton having to perform press-ups on top of a female lance corporal in front of other recruits.

The court heard how a week before the death in June 1995, Sergeant Gavaghan kicked the soldier as he did press-ups.

Mr Rook added: “At times he [Sergeant Gavaghan] did lose control of himself.”

The coroner noted that Private Benton was told he was due to be discharged from the Army after a series of disciplinary problems and his feelings of shame had contributed to his state of mind.

His original inquest was held a month after his death and recorded a verdict of suicide.

But Private Benton’s family wanted the fresh inquest after allegations of bullying and a cover-up emerged at Deepcut.

The coroner also described a litany of failures with the original “woefully inadequate” police inquiry. Shortly after the inquest began, the Army apologised and said there were “a number of things that could and should have been better”.

The second inquest into the death of Private Gray has been launched after a campaign by his parents.

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European Court, Government, Legal, Society

ECHR ruling: Intelligence agencies can harvest data

PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION

Controversial powers that have been used by British spies to hoover up vast amounts of personal information to help foil major terrorist plots do not automatically breach human rights, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled.

It said UK intelligence agencies could scoop up data belonging to millions of citizens if there were proper safeguards and supervision.

Judges said harvesting and storing data on the websites people visited, who they called, texted or emailed, and their medical, tax and financial records was not “in and of itself” unlawful.

The ruling will be a boost to the Government, which says collecting “bulk data” and communications information has been crucial in preventing jihadist plots.

Ministers brought in the Investigatory Powers Act last year to tighten up the UK’s use of sweeping surveillance powers and introduced new oversights.

However, the ECHR found that the previous spying regime – exposed by Edward Snowden’s revelations about intelligence techniques – did violate human rights.

In 2013, Mr Snowden revealed that GCHQ, the UK’s eavesdropping agency, had been secretly collecting communications sent over the internet on an industrial scale.

The ECHR judgment said the system did not have any proper safeguards because it led to completely “untargeted” collection of information.

It ruled this had violated Article 8 and Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights – safeguarding privacy and confidential journalistic material.

The court’s ruling related to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act which was replaced by the new Act at the start of 2017.

The court acknowledged that this act makes significant changes to the interception and communications data regimes, though critics call it a “turbocharged snoopers’ charter”.

The British Government has said it would give “careful consideration” to the ruling.

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Government, Legal, Society

Electronic signatures can be written into the law

LAW COMMISSION

SIGNING on the dotted line has been the seal on deals and contracts for hundreds of years. But the supremacy of the traditional written signature could be nearing its end as the Law Commission has ruled that it can be replaced with a typed name or even the click of a button.

The Government’s independent legal adviser has released a report stating that e-signatures can be treated as equivalent to written ones. The report could have implications for documents including Last Powers of Attorney, which must be signed manually, as well as credit agreements and land sales.

Currently many businesses are afraid to use e-signatures because they are concerned they could be challenged in court.

In one case, the commission said, a large organisation has its documents signed manually before scanning them and then shredding the originals, a practice it described as “inefficient”. Electronic signatures can take forms including a typed name, clicking on “I accept” on a website, using a finger or stylus on a touchscreen and using a password or Pin code.

The guidance raises the prospect that an email with a name typed at the bottom of it or even an email header could be treated as a signed document.

The commission has opened a consultation on whether a new law is required to enshrine the legal validity of e-signatures, but said it is “not persuaded at present” that this is absolutely necessary, because the law is already in force. “Our provisional view is that the combination of EU law, statute and case law means that, under the current law, an electronic signature is capable of meeting a statutory requirement for a signature if an ‘authenticating intention’ can be demonstrated,” it said.

The Law Commission says that recent rulings made in the High Court and the Court of Appeal set enough of a precedent for there to be no need for a new law. European law also says that e-signatures should not be treated as less effective than physical ones.

The commission also suggested that, in future, signing could be witnessed via webcam or Skype, something the law does not currently allow for.

“We provisionally propose that it should be possible for a witness to observe an electronic signature by video link and then attest the document by affixing their own electronic signature to it,” the commission said.

In the future, it said, the law could even allow a second person to virtually witness an e-signature by signing into an online platform so they can see it appear in real time.

The Law Commissioner said: “Contract law in the UK is flexible, but some businesses are still unsure if electronic signatures would satisfy legal requirements. We can confirm that they do, potentially paving the way for much quicker transactions for businesses and consumers.

“And not only that: there’s scope, with our proposals for webcam witnesses, to do even more to make signing formal documents more convenient and to speed up transactions.”

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