Subscribers get the videos early on a Friday (You may subscribe free on the Guido Fawkes blog) but here it is! It really is a must watch. Lord Pearson does say some extraordinary things!
Another, equally, interesting perspective comes from Dominic Lawson writing in the Times: Banning the burqa is simply not British.
Lawson writes: ” This is not to say that Lord Pearson, UKIP’s new leader, is a figure in the Hitler mould. Far from it. Having met Pearson on more than one occasion, I know him to be a civilised and considerate person. Yet in attempting to gain market share from the British National party in the run-up to the general election, Pearson is indulging in a lethally dangerous form of identity politics; and in his claims to be standing up for “British values”, the UKIP leader is in fact trashing them…….Pearson declared last week: “We are not Muslim-bashing, but this [the wearing of the burqa] is incompatible with Britain’s values of freedom and democracy.” First of all, he absolutely is “Muslim-bashing….”
I am not in the least interested in what people wish to wear. If women are forced to wear the burqa, that is a different issue – but as many women wish to wear the burqa, they should be free to do so, subject to the caveat that they should be subject to the same security issues as everyone else in this country. I doubt that I would personally find it as interesting to talk to someone wearing a balaclava or a burqa as I would an open face because we tend to read faces when we listen to give sense, emotion and depth to the spoken word. I suspect others may take a similar view.
An area of law I have absolutely no interest in is Family Law. Fortunately there are many good bloggers about to deal with such matters: John Bolch, Family Lore, and Pink Tape to name but two regulars.
I do wonder why lawyers who deal with the fantastically rich are so rich themselves… I can only presume that these lawyers charge rich people more for exactly the same 
My only other observation, which is ironic given David Cameron’s plan to encourage everyone to get back to eating Sunday lunch, attending Church and getting married, is that getting married is not a brilliant idea in the current climate of Britain’s divorce laws. It is 
The latest nonsense to come out of our divorce courts is covered by the Daily Telegraph: Is divorce law fair? A multimillionaire faces Britain’s biggest divorce payout. Is Lisa Tchenguiz right to demand £100m of her husband’s wealth?
At least this case – for those of us who have no interest in this field of law – has a human interest story….well… ‘human’ interest in the sense of greed and duplicity… The Telegraph reports: “Shortly after Miss Tchenguiz filed for divorce, her husband was locked out of his Mayfair office and 20,000 documents were downloaded from his computer…… and then asks: “Was the judge right to rule that Miss Tchenguiz could use this information? Do you think assets are shared fairly in divorce law? What about spousal maintenance? Should the wife get half?..”
Apparently the judge held that she could use the stolen information (she was clobbered for a million in costs) and remarked that on the scale of bad behaviour, nicking documents from the husband in a bit of DIY detective work was pretty severe and shoddy. This is ‘End of the pier at Brighton’ knock about stuff… but English Law can be a bit ‘colourful’. If you are in the market for other ‘novelty cakes’ yourself… they do some good ones here. Truly astonishing.
There is a lot of LAW about today…
Solicitors drum up childhood-abuse cases with jail ads
No Shit Sherlock award…
SOLICITORS are advertising in jails for prison inmates to make compensation claims for abuse against former carers and teachers. Some of the claims involve allegations stretching back decades. The prisoners contact the lawyers to inquire about payouts and are told to make complaints to the police about their alleged abusers, partly in order to shore up their compensation claims. They can net up to six-figure sums. In addition to genuine cases of historical abuse it is feared that some former carers and teachers could be wrongly accused — and socially stigmatised — by hardened criminals attracted by the lure of compensation money.”
CPS refuses to reveal details of Nick Griffin’s race hate trial
Guardian: Prosecutors claim releasing information about 1998 case would breach BNP leader’s data protection rights
The CPS decision here is understandable – but here we are not dealing with a private individual. Mr Griffin is the leader of the BNP. Mr Griffin’s party will play a part in the coming elections. The Guardian is appealing the decision with the Information Commissioner. I hope that the information is revealed. The electorate and the press do have the right to know about the political views of those who seek election… or the views they may once have held.
The Guardian reports: ” In a letter to the Guardian, which submitted the request almost four months ago, the CPS said: “The majority of the information contained in the case papers is personal data. “A large proportion of this personal data is sensitive personal data because it consists of information as to the commission of an offence and Mr Griffin’s political opinions.”…..On appeal, the CPS last week reiterated its view that Griffin’s rights are not outweighed by the public interest in the disclosure of the information.”
Blawg Review #248 by Scotslawstudent is up…
The Chilcot Inquiry will hear from leading government lawyers, Lord Goldsmith and Tony Blair this week in what promises to be an interesting week. 
Charon QC 