Britannia Radio

The willing censor -The new Inquisition

Telegraph The new Inquisition Telegraph View: The law has established a climate within which pettiness flourishes to the detriment of any common sense.   By Telegraph View Published: 7:41PM BST 21 Jul 2010 41 Comments A councillor faces suspension for dismissing Scientology as "stupid"; another is convicted of racial harassment for calling a colleague a coconut; a householder is made to feel like a racist for objecting to a gipsy site near his home. Every day, it seems, brings another tale of how comments that a few years ago would have been regarded as nothing worse than rudeness – or simply a difference of opinion – have either been criminalised or considered a justification for disciplinary action. In large part, this is a consequence of the laws introduced by the last government, notably the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which created the offence of racially aggravated harassment, and the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006. Although there have not been prosecutions in two of the cases mentioned above, there might have been. John Dixon, the Welsh Lib Dem councillor with a dim view of Scientology, faces a ban from office for "failing to show respect and consideration to others"; and Chris Hollis, who objected to the gipsy site near Bristol, was admonished by his local authority because his letter contained "discriminatory and insulting arguments".  The law has established a climate within which such pettiness flourishes to the detriment of any common sense. Junior officials are terrified of allowing anything to pass that might seem remotely offensive to others and this ethos has spread through the public sector and the criminal justice system. The Crown Prosecution Service has ruled that religious hate laws apply to attacks on Scientology as on any other faith. But as Mr Dixon pointed out, why should it (or any other religion) have greater protection from ridicule than he has for being a Liberal Democrat? This would be a good target for Nick Clegg's review of legislation that has damaged personal freedom.       Telegraph   White Christian Britons being unfairly targeted for hate crimes by CPS, Civitas claims White Christian Britons are being unfairly targeted compared with minority groups for committing hate crimes, a new report says.   By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor Published: 7:30AM BST 19 Jul 2010 21 Comments Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, who were prosecuted and then cleared last December of a religiously aggravated hate crime after a strongly worded discussion with a Muslim guest at their hotel about the relative merits of their respective religions Photo: AFP/GETTY The study from think-tank Civitas argues that new hate crime legislation is restricting freedom of speech, and has effectively introduced a new blasphemy law into Britain by the back door. A foreword attached to the main report, “A New Inquisition: religious persecution in Britain today”, argues that prosecutors and police are unfairly singling out alleged crimes by white Christians, while ignoring other similar offences by minority groups. It says: “Some police forces and the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] seem to be interpreting statutes in favour of ethnic and religious minorities and in a spirit hostile to members of the majority population, defined as ‘White’ or ‘Christian’.” Report authors said it is “legitimate to ask” whether these agendas are being driven by “sectarian groups” within either police forces or inside the CPS. It claims “there is evidence of biased application of the law”, citing the case of a Muslim man who sprayed the words “Islam will dominate the world – Osama is on his way” and “Kill Gordon Brown” on a war memorial in Burton-Upon-Trent. He was prosecuted for criminal damage – “that is neither a racially nor a religiously aggravated offence”. The CPS had argued that “the defacing the memorial did not attach to any particular racial or religious group” despite the fact that the monument was “a Christian and British memorial, carrying Christian and British symbols. "People who read the story found themselves thinking that, if a non-Muslim had defaced a Muslim building the system would have thrown the book at him". This compared with a Christian couple in Liverpool, Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, who were prosecuted and then cleared last December of a religiously aggravated hate crime after a strongly worded discussion with a Muslim guest at their hotel about the relative merits of their respective religions. Civitas questions whether the CPS’s decisions are being influenced by an internal staff association called the National Black Crown Prosecution Association (NBCPA), which has in the past received tens of thousands of pounds from the CPS. It says the NBCPA’s “main objective is to advance the careers of ethnic minorities within the CPS but it also takes an interest in the impact of CPS decisions on members of ethnic minorities”. It adds: “Whether this concern threatens the impartiality of the CPS is not clear. But other harmful effects of race-based politics have already led to open criticism by some CPS staff.” It cites a newspaper report which claimed “that ethnic minorities were being given jobs within the CPS that they could not do”. It adds: “The activities of race and religion-based groups within the criminal justice system, including the police, the probation service and the CPS, are such that a public inquiry is now needed. “Groups that act in a sectarian spirit have no place in a system whose essence should be justice and impartiality.” A hate crime is officially defined as a “criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility, or prejudice based on a person’s religion or perceived religion”. Yet the report argues that these definitions are without substance and result in confusion and silliness in their application. Although the total number of these crimes has fallen from 13,201 in 2006/7 to 11,845 in 2008/9, the report says the volume of hate legislation has rapidly expanded, with 35 Acts of Parliament, 52 statutory instruments, 13 codes of practice, three codes of guidance and 16 European Union directives which have a bearing on “discrimination”. A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said the NBCPA was “a highly regarded staff association” and “the trailing of the suggestion that the NBCPA may affect the CPS’ impartiality is without foundation. “The NBCPA has no influence over specific casework decisions. The decision to prosecute is based solely on the application of the principles contained in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.” Prosecutors only take allegations of a racist or religious crime to court when they are satisfied “there has to be sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction. “Where there is evidence of a racially or religiously aggravated crime, the public interest will usually require a prosecution. “When making their decisions, prosecutors are not influenced by the ethnic or national origin, religion or belief of the suspect or victim and it is incorrect to suggest any one group is singled out more than another for prosecution.” AOL News                   Burka row MP could face legal row Last Updated: Sunday, 25 July 2010, 06:32 GMT - Search: Hollobone burka legal Burka row MP could face legal row A Tory MP has been warned he could face legal action if he follows through on a threat to refuse to meet constituents wearing burkas. Lawyers for Liberty have written to Philip Hollobone insisting that the Equality Act obliges him to avoid discrimination. The missive says the campaigning group "will be happy to represent any of your constituents that you refuse to meet because they are veiled".   The Kettering MP sparked a row earlier this month when he argued that he needed to be face-to-face with voters who wanted his help. He said he would "invite" anyone who did not wish to remove their veil to communicate with him in a "different way", such as by letter. Mr Hollobone is trying to bring in a Private Member's Bill to ban women wearing the burka or niqab in public, after the French introduced a similar rule. The comments were criticised by Muslim groups, while the idea of a ban was dismissed by Government ministers as "un-British" and unhelpful to women. James Welch, Legal Director for Liberty, said: "We have written to Mr Hollobone to advise him of the law as enacted by Parliament and feel confident that no well-advised Honourable Member would seek to breach it by meeting with constituents on a discriminatory basis." Last Updated: Sunday, 25 July 2010, 14:32 GMT   Telegraph Councillor faces suspension for calling Scientology 'stupid' A councillor is facing suspension after calling the Church of Scientology "stupid" on Twitter, it has been disclosed.   By Laura Roberts Published: 6:30AM BST 21 Jul 2010 9 Comments Tom Cruise is one of Scientology's most famous members Photo: REUTERS John Dixon, a Cardiff councillor, is being investigated for allegedly breaching the code of conduct for local authority members which demands they "show respect and consideration for others". A complaint was made to the Welsh ombudsman by a member of the Church of Scientology in December last year about comments Mr Dixon made on his Twitter page that June. On a visit to London, to buy a wedding ring, the Liberal Democrat councillor tweeted: "I didn't know the Scientologists had a church on Tottenham Court Road. Just hurried past in case the stupid rubs off." Following an investigation by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Mr Dixon was referred to Cardiff Council's standards and ethics committee. The committee will receive the ombudsman's report next week and Mr Dixon could face sanctions of up to a six-month suspension after a hearing in the autumn. Mr Dixon has argued that the comment was made in a personal capacity although the post was made on an account called CllrJohnDixon. Other postings made at the time included remarks about visiting a relative in Richmond and going to a musical. He has since set up a second account, JohnLDixon, for his "more personal musings", in which he describes himself as a "microbiologist and web developer, into science, rugby and web geekery". However, although the ombudsman said it was "likely" he had breached the councillors' code Mr Dixon appeared unfazed as his Twitter followers trebled. He wrote on his personal account on Tuesday: "Am I going to get into more trouble for saying that, right now, I'm bigger than Xenu, do you think?" According to Scientologists, Xenu was the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who brought his people to earth in a spaceship more than 75 million years ago. Mr Dixon said: "I don't see why the Scientologists should have any greater protection from ridicule than I should have as a member of the Liberal Democrats. I can't believe it has got this far." One Twitter supporter said: "Instead of a disciplinary hearing, they should canvas all the electorate to see if they agree with you. I think they just might." Another wrote: "We're all behind you mate, if any disciplinary action goes ahead it will be because the stupid rubbed off on someone." The Church of Scientology, whose followers include Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, is not recognised as a religion in Britain although it is in the United States. However, in March last year the Crown Prosecution Service decided that anyone who attacks Scientology can be prosecuted under faith hate laws. The move provides the controversial Church of Scientology the same protection as other mainstream religions. The complaint was made by John Wood, a member of the Church of Scientology, who lives near the Head Quarters in East Grinstead. He said: "People are free to say what they like but I felt that as a person in a position of public office that he had to be violating some kind of code of conduct."     Independent Magistrate disciplined after comment to foreign defendant By Mark Bulstrode, Press Association Thursday, 22 July 2010   A magistrate was disciplined after rebuking a foreign defendant for "coming to our shores and abusing our hospitality". The unnamed official's remark "fell short of the qualities of social awareness and sound judgment expected of the judiciary", the Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) said. But the magistrate was allowed to continue in his role after being reprimanded, completing further training and being removed from a mentoring list. His long service, apology and contrition were taken into account. In its annual report, the OJC said it investigated the complaint after the magistrate told a "non-British" defendant: "We take exception to people coming to our shores and abusing our hospitality." The comment could have been construed as "displaying prejudice", the OJC found. In a separate incident, another magistrate was reprimanded and told to take further training after failing to return to court to issue an adjudication following a "disagreement" with bench colleagues in the retiring room. An OJC spokesman said it would not release the two magistrates' names or details of the cases and courts involved. But Sheridan Greenland, head of the OJC, stressed the organisation had worked to "improve openness". "In the last year, to improve openness, we have made public statements in each case where someone has been removed from the judiciary. "The introduction of an online complaints form is improving accessibility to the system and we have increased the number of complaints resolved within 90 days," he said. The complaints were among more than 1,500 made against "judicial office holders" in 2009/10 - a rise of 18% on the previous year, the OJC said. More than half (59%) related to judicial decisions and were unable to be considered under the regulations. A further 27% related to alleged inappropriate behaviour or comments and 5% to claims of discrimination. The OJC said 25 magistrates, two judges and a tribunal member were removed from office in 2009/10 following investigations. Reasons for the action included 12 failures to "fulfil judicial duties", five cases of civil proceedings or criminal convictions, six of inappropriate behaviour, three of professional misconduct, one each for a conflict of interest and motoring offences. A further 11 judiciary members were reprimanded and 11 more given formal advice or a warning. There were 18 resignations during conduct investigations, the OJC said.       Shocking case of 'anti-semitism' at Hove Crown Court--- EDO Judge in Anti-Semitism Row south west | peace | news report Monday July 26, 2010 13:32 by Harvey - The decommissioners Judge faces anti-Semitism probe after Brighton campaigners walk free Reported in today's 'The Argus' by Nigel Freedman a local Brighton rag that about as bad as Bristol Evening Pest. A top judge is under investigation after being accused of making anti-Semitic comments that could have swayed a jury into acquitting a group of protesters. Judge George Bathurst-Norman was said by critics to have persuaded a jury to clear a group of campaigners who smashed up a Brighton factory they claimed was making parts for Israeli war planes. Jewish groups described the judge as acting like the “defence counsel [rather] than the neutral officer of the court.” He is said to have compared Israel to the Nazi regime and accused the country of ignoring international law while summing up the criminal damage trial. The judge, added that 'there may be much to be admired' about one Smash EDO protester, and that 'in the last war he would probably have received a George Medal'. Eight protesters were either cleared last month by the jury or on the directions of the judge of conspiracy to cause £187,000 damage at the EDO MBM plant in Moulsecoomb, Brighton. They claim the company makes weapons release mechanisms for Israeli F16 fighters which bombed Gaza killing more than 1,000 civilians. The protesters said they acted lawfully in “decommissioning” the factory to prevent alleged war crimes being committed by Israel. The Office for Judicial Complaints, which deals with objections over the conduct of judges and magistrates, confirmed that an inquiry into how Judge Bathurst-Norman handled the trial is under way. The move follows a series of complaints from organisations including the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Chief executive Jon Benjamin said: “The judge's summing up seemed to be more of a character reference for the defendants and an account of the iniquities of Israel and America than a dispassionate appraisal of the evidence. “Rather than test whether the defence of lawful excuse was available to the accused he appeared more intent on telling the jury why they would be morally wrong not to acquit them.” The judge told the jury: “It may be as you went through what I can only describe as horrific scenes of devastation to a civilian population, which one would have hoped to have disappeared with the Nazi regime, you may have felt anger, but you must put that emotion aside.” Jonathan Hoffman, vice-chairman of the Zionist Federation, said: “The judge behaved more like the defence counsel than the neutral officer of the court that he was supposed to be.” A spokesman for the Office of Judicial Complaints said: “We have received a number of complaints in relation to Judge Bathurst-Norman's summing up. “Those complaints will be considered under the Judicial Discipline Regulations in the usual way.” The findings of the investigation will be considered by Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge and Lord Chancellor Kenneth Clark who will decide if the judge should face disciplinary action. End of newspaper article. Anyway - if anybody should get a medal or award it should be James. A year and a half is a big chunk out of your life especially when all he did was try - best he could - to stop or at least reduce the suffering of the defenceless children, women and men of Gaza. Well done James!!!!     UK Indymedia - Corporate Watch: Decommissioners Victorious EDO Judge in Anti-Semitism Row. 26.07.2010 21:36. Judge faces anti-Semitism probe after Brighton campaigners walk free. Reported in today's 'The Argus' by ... www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/07/456201.html?c=on Telegraph BP oil spill: company accused of 'buying academic silence' in new legal row BP has been accused of “buying” the silence of some of the world’s leading scientists and academics to help build its legal defence against litigation after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.   By Andrew Hough Published: 11:00AM BST 23 Jul 2010 Previous 1 of 4 Images Next Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Clarence Luquet (C) points to a map illustrating areas closed to commercial fishing as oyster fishermen Kenneth Fox looks on Photo: GETTY The latest row comes a day after BP admitted it had used Photoshop on some of its official images including this helicopter image. Photo: BP The original helicopter image. Photo: BP The oil giant has also been embroiled in a row over the freed Lockerbie bomer, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi seen here arriving home in Libya. Photo: AFP/GETTY Researchers hired by the oil giant were reportedly asked to sign “restrictive” contracts for work designed to protect the company from more than 300 lawsuits in the wake of the slick. BP is facing the lawsuits after the oil spill destroyed the livelihoods of many people along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  It was claimed that contained within the contracts were clauses restricting scientists from publishing any academic research undertaken for the oil giant, sharing them with other researchers or even talking about them for as long as three years. Prof Cary Nelson, the head of the American Association of Professors, accused the oil giant of making “hugely destructive" decisions. Prof Cary, whose organisation aims to protect “academic freedom”, said the clauses contained in contracts sent to dozens of scientists in America were “a serious restraint in the midst of an ongoing crisis”. The oil giant admitted on Friday that it had hired more than a dozen scientists "with expertise in the resources of the Gulf of Mexico". But while admitting it had asked the experts to treat information from BP lawyers as “confidential” it denied placing “restrictions” on academics speaking about scientific data. It was another blow to the oil giant in a week when it was hit with a string of bad news including a tropical storm forcing an evacuation of deep sea engineers and rows over the doctoring of pictures and the release of the Lockerbie bomber. According to a copy of a contract offered to scientists by BP, obtained by the BBC and newspapers in America, scientists could not discuss their data for at least three years or until the government gave final approval to its restoration plan for the Gulf. It also stated scientists may only perform research for other agencies as long as it did not conflict with the work commissioned by BP and could only take instructions from lawyers offering the contracts or other in-house counsel at the company. American newspaper reports also claimed that BP attempted to hire the entire marine sciences department at southern US university. Bob Shipp, head of marine sciences at the University of South Alabama, who was offered one of the contracts, said BP wanted his whole department. He said that after he stipulated that his team would have complete academic freedom he never heard from BP’s lawyers again. "We told them there was no way we would agree to any kind of restrictions on the data we collect. It was pretty clear we wouldn't be hearing from them again after that," told the Press-Register newspaper in Mobile, Alabama. "We didn't like the perception of the university representing BP in any fashion." The university declined to comment citing confidentiality restrictions the company sought on any research. Prof Nelson, the head of English and Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois, warned BP's actions to protect its corporate reputation and from legal challenges was "hugely destructive". "This is really one huge corporation trying to buy faculty silence in a comprehensive way," he told the BBC. “Our ability to evaluate the disaster and write public policy and make decisions about it as a country can be impacted by the silence of the research scientists who are looking at conditions.” "It's hugely destructive. I mean at some level, this is really BP versus the people of the United States." In a statement on Friday, BP defended hiring the scientists who were “helping us collect and understand data about the impacts of the oil spill on the natural resources and to plan for restoration of those resources”. “As a result of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against BP,” a spokesman said. “As a normal part of litigation, both BP and plaintiffs’ attorneys have hired a number of experts to assist with these lawsuit. “As is customary, we have asked these experts (more than a dozen) to treat information from BP counsel as confidential.” He added: “However, BP does not take the position that environmental data are confidential. “Moreover, BP does not place restrictions on academics speaking about scientific data.” The spill, triggered by an April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers, unleashed an environmental disaster in the Gulf, devastating the region's tourist and fishing industries. BP has already spent close to four billion dollars on clean-up costs and compensation claims and has promised to set up a 20-billion-dollar fund to pay victims of the disaster along the US Gulf Coast. It is not known exactly how much oil has leaked into the sea, but if an upper estimate of over four million barrels is confirmed, the disaster would be the biggest accidental oil spill ever.   July 19, 2010 73,000 Blogs Shut Down by Whom and Why? Posted by Van Helsing at July 19, 2010 1:30 PM Obamunism is getting scary for those of us who rely on the Internet for information. After 73,000 blogs were closed down by Big Government, supposedly for copyright violations, we learn that the actual reason for the shutdown is unknown, as is the identity of the government agency imposing it. From CNET: Blogetery.com, a little-known WordPress platform used by more than 70,000 blogs, was shut down by its Web hosting company more than a week ago and nobody seems willing to say why or who is responsible. BurstNet, the Web-hosting company, informed Blogetery's operator that service was terminated at the request of some law enforcement agency but wouldn't say which one. As for the reason, BurstNet hasn't made that clear either. In an e-mail to Blogetery's operator, BurstNet managers did say that they had little choice but to terminate service. We do know it wasn't ICE: [O]n Sunday, a spokeswoman for ICE said "while ICE's Internet piracy enforcement efforts are still very much ongoing, we were not involved with the action." The RIAA and MPAA — usually responsible for siccing the authorities on pirates — don't know about it either: A spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America said Sunday that the trade group for the four top record labels had nothing to do with Blogetery's shut down. A spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America said he had never heard of Blogetery. From a later update: In an interview, a BurstNet spokesman declined to identify the law enforcement agency that ordered Blogetery shut down or provide the reason but did say that it had nothing to do with copyright violations. Apparently the shutdown was inflicted without a court order. The ChiComs don't allow open Internet access. Why would Maobama? Be sure that if Moonbattery suddenly disappears, it won't be because I lost interest in resisting liberalism.    Telegraph Sats 'biased against non-English children' English tests should not ask pupils about irony because foreign schoolchildren won't understand, the exam watchdog has said.   By Nick Collins Published: 6:04PM BST 19 Jul 2010 Guidelines for marking the national test in English and the training of examiners were also inadequate, according to Ofqual, the exams regulator. The examination of British humour in a paper aimed at 10 year-olds may have been biased against students who had a different first language, according to a report on the 2009 key stage two examinations. Concerns were raised over a task in which pupils had to read and analyse a booklet called Dear Norman, which contained a number of letters to a boy who has left home to live in his tree house in the back garden. Pupils were required to explain what was funny about Norman's situation - a question that markers struggled to assess because there were many ways of interpreting it, Ofqual, the exams regulator, said. According to the mark scheme, acceptable answers included: "He's left home but nobody seems that worried" (2 marks), "The funny thing is his parents are letting him live there" (1 mark), and "He hasn't got out of school fully - he still gets homework sent" (2 marks). The report concluded: "In English, the choice of reading resource material was rooted in a specific cultural context and relied on an ironic and mocking sense of humour. "Together, these may have disadvantaged reluctant readers and pupils from other social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds...children with English as an additional language might not understand the humour." Around one in seven primary school pupils in Britain does not speak English as their first language – a total of more than half a million children. Teaching unions have been fiercely critical of the tests for 10 and 11 year olds, with a quarter of England's 17,000 primary schools boycotting the exams in industrial action this year. Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has nevertheless pledged to press ahead with the exams in English and Maths in 2011. Telegraph   Tea Party civil war over 'racist' letter A branch of America's Tea Party movement has been expelled after one its members wrote a fictional letter from "Colored People" to Abraham Lincoln.   By Alex Spillius in Washington Published: 7:50PM BST 19 Jul 2010 Last week the North Idaho Tea Party removed a billboard after complaints from other local and national groups. Photo: AP The Tea Party Federation, an umbrella group, kicked out the Tea Party Express group after deciding the letter written on a blog by spokesman Mark Williams was "clearly offensive". Claiming his intent was merely satirical, Mr Williams had been writing in response to a resolution adopted by civil rights group, the National Association for the Advancement for Coloured People, condemning tea party leaders for tolerating racism.  The faux letter began: "Dear Mr. Lincoln, We Coloreds have taken a vote and decided that we don't cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. "That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!" Mr Williams hit back against the Tea Party Federation, stressing that in the loose-knit alliance of anti-big government groups there was "no tea party leadership". "Every tea partier is a tea party leader. But something happens when the stronger egos and personalities in a movement begin to feel a sense of ownership," he said. The row underlined the strains facing the right-wing movement as it moves more into the mainstream after 18 months of increasingly popular grassroots protest against President Barack Obama's liberal agenda. Last week the North Idaho Tea Party removed a billboard after complaints from other local and national groups. It had likened Mr Obama to Hitler and Lenin. All three men were pictured over the words: "Radical Leaders Prey on the Fearful & Naïve". Mr Williams, a radio talk show host in California, had earlier attracted criticism for saying that a proposed Islamic centre and mosque near the site of the former World Trade Centre in New York would "consist of a Mosque for the worship of the terrorists' monkey-god". The Republican establishment has mixed feelings about the tea party. The movement's energy is likely to stir up a strong protest vote against the Democratic Party in November's midterm elections. But there is fear that more extremist and eccentric elements could alienate independent voters and result in defeat in key battles for senate seats. Objecting first to Mr Obama's $800 billion stimulus bill and $1 trillion health care reform, the tea party movement took its name from the 1773 protest in Boston against taxes imposed by George III. Judge faces anti-Semitism probe after speech attacking Israel helps free arms factory protesters By Steve Doughty, Social Affairs Correspondent Last updated at 2:52 AM on 24th July 2010 Comments (56) Add to My Stories Remarks: Judge Bathurst-Norman is being investigated after summing up in a trial which led to protesters being acquitted A senior judge was under investigation yesterday after being accused of making anti-Semitic remarks in court that may have swayed his jury into acquitting a group of protesters. Judge George Bathurst-Norman was said by critics to have persuaded a jury to clear a group of campaigners who smashed up a factory making parts for Israeli warplanes. Summing up in the criminal damage trial, he compared Israel to the Nazi regime and accused the country of ignoring international law. The judge added that 'there may be much to be admired' about the chief protester, and that 'in the last war he would probably have received a George Medal'. The Office for Judicial Complaints, which deals with objections over the conduct of judges and magistrates, confirmed that an inquiry into how Judge Bathurst-Norman handled the trial of five political activists at Hove Crown Court in June is under way. Its findings will be considered by Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge and Lord Chancellor Kenneth Clarke, who have the final say on any disciplinary action. A number of complaints are said to have accused the judge not just of anti-Israel rhetoric but specifically of anti-Semitism. The case involved a group of activists who broke into and vandalised a Brighton factory run by engineering firm EDO MBM. The company was making parts for use in the bomb-aiming equipment on Israeli F16 warplanes. The invasion shut the factory for a week and caused £187,000 worth of damage. But five men and women who appeared in court claimed they had done nothing wrong under criminal damage law.  The law says someone is not guilty of causing damage if they believed it was necessary for the immediate protection of someone else's property. It is framed to protect, for example, someone who smashes a neighbour's door down if they believe their house is on fire.  Under attack: The judge criticised the actions of Israel in bombing parts of Gaza in January 2009 which prompted protesters to storm the arms factory However, in the Brighton case, the activists claimed they believed their invasion was necessary for the protection of property in Gaza. Several similar defences by protesters have been successful in recent years. In 2008, six Greenpeace protesters were acquitted after causing £30,000 worth of damage at a coal-fired power station. The jury in that case accepted they had acted to prevent climate change causing greater damage.  Describing evidence shown in court, Judge Bathurst-Norman told the jury that he could only describe the 'horrific' events shown as 'scenes which one would rather have hoped to have disappeared with the Nazi regimes of the last war'. In his summing up, he gave his backing to the evidence of one defendant, Ornella Saibene, a former Greenham Common activist. The judge said: 'She took us through the horrors, and there really is no other word for it than horrors, that emerged in the press and on the news and the footage as to what the Israelis were doing in Gaza. 'You may think that perhaps "Hell on Earth" would be an understatement of what the Gazans endured.' Among groups complaining was the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Its president, Vivian Wineman, said: 'The judge's comments give rise to profound concerns about the appropriateness of his directions to the jury.' Jonathan Hoffman, of the Zionist Federation, said: 'This opens the door to any group which thinks the British presence in Afghanistan is wrong to go and smash up plants supplying British forces.'   Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1297219/Judge-faces-anti-semitism-probe-speech-attacking-Israel-helps-free-arms-factory-protesters.html#ixzz0uiMcM41n