Politics 6 January 2012 Obscenity victory An illiberal and misconceived prosecution fails at Southwark Crown Court. Print HTML The jury at Southwark Crown Court has returned unanimous Not Guilty verdicts on each of the six charges under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 against Michael Peacock. The prosecution failed to convince a single juror that any of the DVD material distributed by Peacock was "depraving and corrupting" under the 1959 Act. The DVDs contained sexual practices such as fisting, BDSM, and so-called "watersports" depicted between consenting adults. Statement from Crown Prosecution Service: The CPS charged Michael Peacock with publishing obscene articles for gain, as we were satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to secure a realistic prospect of conviction, and that it was in the public interest to prosecute these allegations. The prosecution was not only about the content of the material, but the way in which it was being distributed to others, without checks being made as to the age or identity of recipients. The judge was satisfied that there was a case to answer, but having heard all of the evidence for both the prosecution and the defence, the jury acquitted the defendant. We respect the jury's decision. Statement from Mr Peacock's solicitors Hodge Jones & Allen: The trial of Michael Peacock for six counts of distributing obscene DVDs under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 concluded today with an acquittal. The jury, which had watched large parts of the 'hard core' male-on-male DVDs took under 2 hours to find Mr Peacock not guilty. Mr Peacock had been advertising the DVDs online and selling them from his flat in Brixton. Officers from SCD9 (the former Obscene Publications Squad of the Met) saw the adverts and operated an undercover test purchase. Six DVD's featuring various sex acts including 'fisting' and BDSM were deemed by police to be obscene and Mr Peacock was prosecuted. Myles Jackman, a solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen, with a specialist interest in obscenity law, commented: "The jury's verdict is a significant victory for common sense suggesting that the OPA has been rendered irrelevant in the digital age. Normal jurors did not consider representations of consensual adult sexuality would deprave and corrupt the viewer." Senior Criminal Partner, Nigel Richardson, acting for Mr Peacock, stated that "from the outset Michael has displayed an enormous amount of courage in contesting these charges. The jury's verdict vindicates his decision to challenge this arcane and archaic legislation. The result is also a testament to [HJA crime partner] Sandra Paul's persuasive advocacy." More to follow. David Allen Green is legal correspondent of the New Statesman › Memo to Ed and Ed: ignore the call to embrace austerity David Allen Green is legal correspondent of the New Statesman and author of the Jack of Kent blog. His legal journalism has included popularising the Simon Singh libel case and discrediting the Julian Assange myths about his extradition case. His uncovering of the Nightjack email hack by the Times was described as "masterly analysis" by Lord Justice Leveson. David is also a solicitor and was successful in the "Twitterjoketrial" appeal at the High Court. (Nothing on this blog constitutes legal advice.) More Related articles Why people are crowdfunding their funerals We shouldn't be surprised by Northern Ireland's abortion conviction In this together: how the Lib Dems battled to restrain the Tory monster
Show Hide image The Staggers 6 April 2016 For cities like mine, Brexit has a price they can't afford The North East will bear the brunt of the consequences if Britain leaves the European Union, warns Nick Forbes. Print HTML As the council leader of Newcastle City Council, job creation underpins my every aim in the city. It is both as simple and as important as that. I know that in every service we deliver, and in every bit of planning and strategy we produce, it all has to build towards a sustainable growing economy that brings opportunity for local residents. And it’s this same focus on building a vibrant and prosperous local economy that means I’ll be voting to remain in the EU referendum in June. From developing local businesses and jobs, to protecting working people and supporting our health and environment, Britain’s EU membership is vital to the places we serve. If we leave Europe, it is our communities that will be hardest hit, and the futures of our local people that will be put at risk. In Newcastle, since I became leader in 2011 we have spent years working to defy the effects of the economic downturn and spending cuts imposed by Westminster. We’ve done this by creating the infrastructure for growth, be it building offices or bike lanes, and finding new ways to secure the investment opportunities that underpin thousands of jobs across the city. Look at the skyline in Newcastle and you see cranes because we are building for business. Look at the roads and you see we are investing in making it easier to get around the city. But economic growth in the UK’s major cities would be put at risk by Brexit. Between 2014-2020 the North East’s stands to benefit from £205 million of European Regional Development Fund money which will provide 50 per cent of the revenue or capital funding to support investment in innovation, businesses, low carbon and climate change projects and create jobs. The EU is by far the UK’s largest trading partner and the world’s largest single market; half of our exports go to EU countries, worth £227 billion in 2014 to the UK economy, and over 200,000 British companies export to the EU. The economic damage that leaving the EU would bring would wreak havoc on our local businesses and make it harder than ever for Councils to deliver the services people rely on. The economies of our core cities have undergone radical transformation since the days when tens of thousands of people did back breaking manual jobs in heavy industry. We now have a modern, diverse, economy with strong companies and sectors, including offshore engineering, professional services and the digital sector. Right now Newcastle and other major cities are growing and have a bright future. The recent downturn threatened to derail our aspirations but Brexit could kill them almost entirely. Local councils have already had to make substantial cuts to their budgets over the last 6 years and leaving the EU will represent a further funding black hole. The government’s decision to devolve business rates relies on economic growth and so the disastrous economic effects of Brexit could mean catastrophe for our councils’ ability to deliver the services people rely on as our income would simply fall through the floor. In almost every area of council work, leaving the EU would have a negative impact. In a reformed EU, the UK’s major cities can be the drivers of a new prosperity and opportunity that leads to greater equality and a more socially just Britain. But outside it, our economy may crash, the social protections given to our workers could be stripped away and the common standards that help incentivise a cleaner environment wouldn’t be enforced. So on June 23rd, for the sake of our communities, myself and council leaders representing over 12 million people will be voting to remain. Nick Forbes is the leader of Newcastle Council. More Related articles Tory activist Shazia Awan: Zac Goldsmith’s damaging, exploitative and ugly campaign puts me off politics as a BME candidate Is this the end for Donald Trump? Watch: the Green Party's hilarious new party political broadcast
