We have learned that Wirral Council, which brought legal action against Roger Hayes for non-payment of council tax, has recently decided to institute a right of hearing for Roger's continued non-payment. Ta.
A public hearing was held on Tuesday 26 June 2012, at which Wirral Council said Roger did not appear in court.
As a result, a judge issued an arrest warrant and Roger was arrested yesterday morning. Council spokesmen either did not know the judge's name or declined to name him.
After his arrest, Roger was taken before a magistrate and sentenced to 21 days in prison. Council spokesmen either did not know the name of the magistrate or refused to name them, and were unable to say how much, if any, the public had been notified of either hearing. There wasn't.
At this point, we would like to revise our initial press release as follows:
Roger Hayes “withheld” council tax rather than “refusing to pay” as we reported. This has important implications for his case.
The most important fact about Roger's arrest, trial, and imprisonment is that no one knows the details of what happened to him. What was the name and number of the police officer? What was the court? What was the case number? Who were the judges or magistrates? Were there any ordinary people present to see justice done?
Roger was arrested at his home and sent to jail nine hours later by a judge's decision. This must be another very dangerous example of the rise of “secret” courts and “secret judiciary.” Rep. Kenneth Clark is still pushing for more courtrooms without juries.
Calls to the police or to Liverpool Prison, where he is being held, are met with a wall of silence, with people saying they can't say anything and citing “data protection”. This shows that even more secrecy is being introduced to keep the public interest at bay.
Police are understood to have received a number of calls and one member of the public was slammed down on the phone when he mentioned Roger's name.
Roger's family has also been denied direct information and access. They are currently starting the paperwork process to obtain official permission to visit.
A former police officer has made many good points, which I am happy to share.
He informed us that the prison would not confirm that Roger was with them for “security reasons”. They referred him to the 'Prisoner Location Service' (0121 626 2773) but did not accept any verbal requests. Merseyside Police's switchboard has also passed on reports about Roger to the council. This appears to be a very legally questionable practice.
He said: “I wanted to make a complaint and I was taken to the police control room. The training is that complaints are recorded and then passed to an inspector who will contact the complainant within 24 hours. The first complaint is:
1. Did anyone inform you about Rogers' arrest? The contingency plan was for him to get a message to me. Please note that prisoners cannot make their own phone calls. This is a precaution against prisoners passing encrypted messages to colleagues outside.
2. According to various sources on the internet, Merseyside Police claim that 'data protection' prevents them from confirming Rodgers' whereabouts. This appears to be a highly questionable practice, as “regulations” cannot be enacted to abolish or infringe on common law rights.
3. Submitting a complaint about police conduct to the Council is a breach of the Police Discipline Regulations and breaches the confidentiality of the person against whom the complaint is made. I believe the Police Federation would not like this abuse of the process. ”
The UK Column is delighted to report that Roger Hayes' story has spread across the UK and around the world. Many people are asking what we can do. Our first answer is to highlight the severity of the secrecy and lack of transparency throughout the process and to disseminate information. As an example, another layperson asked a great question:
“Was there a signed warrant (wet signature) and if so, who authorized it:
・Has there been any burglary or damage to your home?
– Was the warrant left in the house?
– Did they search the house? Did they take anything with them – computers, files, phones, routers, etc.?
– Did they leave an inventory of the house? Were there any witnesses to the arrest?
– Was any force applied to Roger or anyone else in the house?
– Was he handcuffed? Did you give any explanation to anyone in the house? Any thoughts on pricing? Was the arresting officer a sworn officer?
– PCSO, another “agency” with arrest powers, a civilian, or a combination thereof.
– Has anyone asked for your name or collar number?
– Does anyone know the name of the prison officer who called? If someone could collate it, I'm sure his lawyer (or someone else) would want it, plus it would provide good information for a follow-up article. ”
Call the authorities directly for answers. All the calls were in favor of Mr. Rodger and showed authorities overwhelming public interest in the case. You can also write to Wirral Council and other authorities for information and answers. Always be courteous and discreet in your calls and requests for information. Unfortunately, authorities may not treat you with the same respect. As soon as we have more detailed information, we will post it. For those who wish to write to Roger, we will post his prison number as soon as it becomes available.
Merseyside Police phone number: 101 local or +44 (0)151 709 6010 in the UK.
Liverpool Prison Phone: +44 (0)151 530 4000
Crimestoppers (UK only) Phone: 0800 555 111
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If you would like to write to Roger to express your support, you can write to the following address:
HMP Liverpool, 68 Hornby Road Liverpool L9 3DF
His prisoner number is: A8953CP
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