One of the things I like about our Update sessions is that you get to know what you missed. And so it was with the case of Jane Clift v Slough Borough Council (Neutral Citation Number: [2009] EWHC 1550 (QB)) – a judgment delivered in June 2009 – which deals with the “violent warning marker”.
What happened was essentially this. Ms Clift reported to a council official (Ms R) an incidence of anti social behaviour that upset her. That telephone call got heated and the phone call was cut off by Ms. Clift before Ms R said she was terminating the call. Ms Clift then wrote to the Council saying “"I did not want to give [Ms] R the self satisfaction of terminating the call – I slammed my phone down so hard I broke it. I felt so affronted and filled with anger that I am certain that I would have physically attacked her if she had been anywhere near me. I truly am not of that nature and so, surely, this should act as a wake up call to the Borough as to the capacity she has for offending people".
The colourful phrases used in the letter caused Slough to activate its “violent warning” mechanism. This resulted in an investigation by Mr Kelleher that concluded that Ms Clift’s actions amounted to violent and threatening behaviour. Mr K said that a marker was to be placed against her name for 18 months and shared with other council departments and government agencies within the borough by electronic means. The result was that Ms. Clift sued for libel and the Council dug in to resist the action.
I recommend the judgment to all our readers involved with the violent marker issue; there is a lot to take in and consider. However, the outcome was that Ms Clift was awarded damages of £12,000, the Council and its investigator (Mr Kelleher) were deemed not to have acted maliciously, and the lawyers involved were suitably enriched for their troubles. Only the taxpayer lost out as he was left picking up the tab.
(By the way, there are places still available in Manchester and Edinburgh Update - details on www.amberhawk.com!. If you Google the case reference you will find it - if having difficulty, email [email protected]).
Comments