Hopefully, at some point in the not too distant future, this debacle of law/yellow journalism/mob hysteria/false accusations/moral panic, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all, will become just another page in British history. Reminiscent of the time of the Civil War, the Bloody Assizes, witch-hunting and other unreasonable and inexplicable behaviours.
The complainers ultimately took ship and went in search of a place they could be grumpy without interference, and have their own witch-hunt. Now, Salem is a tourist attraction.
So, for those of you who toil in the fields of English law, and have occasion to traverse the portrait gallery of Lincoln's Inn, you have probably passed a painting of Sir John Glanville the Younger many times. He was Speaker of the Short Parliament among other accomplishments.
Sir John is one of my maternal great-grandfathers, as is his father, a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
There has been some misunderstanding about the findings of Justice Sales vis a vis who 'won.' The Chancery court is a Court of Equity Justice Sales basically allowed NatWest to continue as Executors, but did not block the rights of the beneficiaries, i.e. the charities under the Trust, to be involved in the distribution of the trust assets.
Slater can crow all they want, but it's a stalemate.
Let's be clear that Justice Sales was not sitting in judgment on the claims of the 'victims,' which appears to be the common misconception. While the Trust was represented by two lawyers in 'pro bono,' i.e. no fee, working for the common good, Slater loaded in a raft of unnecessary, high-priced QCs, to further drain the trust resources, all to the detriment of the 'victims' and to the financial benefit of plaintiff lawyers.
Two skilled plaintiff counsel with a knowledge of the issues should have sufficed to plead the case, but they elected to grandstand and take more money from their clients in fees. No wonder nobody trusts lawyers these days. Their actions were despicable.
So, if any of them slither through the portrait gallery of Lincoln's Inn, perhaps they should pause a moment and reflect. Would they be willing to serve three years in the Tower of London for their convictions? Didn't think so. Sir John Glanville did.
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