The wait of the law: justice delayed is an injustice in itself
Today we report that the average wait for a case to come to trial at magistrates' courts has reached 346 days. For some people it extends to three years.
The price of this indefensible delay is paid by the innocent. First, the victims, who after being traumatised by crime are left in limbo, with that trauma unresolved; second, those who are wrongly accused, living with an unjustified stain on their reputation and a shadow over their future.
After eight centuries Magna Carta has no legal force, but its moral authority remains. The government should recognise that, and act accordingly. Justice delayed is not only justice denied: it is an injustice in itself.
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The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Charity watchdog's five-year fight for the truth about Aspinall Foundation
Leaving Number 10 in disgrace after the Partygate scandal three years ago has not stopped Boris Johnson getting rich ever since. He has earned millions from books and lecture tours, enough to buy a £4m Oxfordshire manor house for him, wife Carrie and their children. It was a different story when the couple were in Downing Street in January 2021 before the Partygate antics surfaced. They were in desperate need of money after Mr Johnson's expensive divorce – and what became known as the 'wallpapergate' affair – left their finances in tatters. He was criticised after failing to disclose secret Tory funding for a lavish refurbishment of their Downing Street flat by interior designer Lulu Lytle. It was at this moment that the couple received a much-needed – and timely – cash injection. Carrie Johnson, or Carrie Symonds, Mr Johnson's fiancee as she then was, was hired by the Aspinall Foundation wildlife conservation charity as director of communications on an estimated 'high five-figure salary'. Just two months after Mr Aspinall signed Ms Johnson, hailing her as a 'huge asset', she had to defend it when it was hit by a potential scandal. It emerged that the Charity Commission had opened a 'regulatory compliance case' investigation into the Aspinall Foundation in 2020. The matters being investigated by the watchdog pre-dated Ms Johnson's arrival at the charity and there is no suggestion she was the subject of investigation. She played down the gravity of the situation, saying such action was 'commonplace during routine regulatory checks'. However, any notion that it was commonplace was blown out of the water weeks later. Then, in March 2022, the commission announced a statutory inquiry – its most serious form of investigation – into the Aspinall Foundation and its sister charity Howletts Wild Animal Trust. It was looking into 'serious concerns about the governance and financial management after reports of possible conflicts of interest and related-party transactions' of both – while adding that the announcement was not in itself a finding of wrongdoing. Extraordinarily, five years after first sounding the alarm bell, the commission still has the Aspinall Foundation in its crosshairs. Two months ago it took its most drastic action yet, sending in troubleshooters – interim managers – to the foundation after 'fresh issues of concern were identified requiring us to embark on a further phase of investigation'. The Charity Commission's code of practice spells out the seriousness of this step. It states that it can appoint interim managers to act as 'receivers and managers' after a statutory inquiry – and 'if it is satisfied there has been misconduct and/or mismanagement in the charity's administration or it is necessary to protect the charity's property'. Using language akin to policing, it explains the aim is to 'detect, prevent or disrupt misconduct or mismanagement.' Misconduct is defined as 'any act that the person committing it knew – or ought to have known – was criminal, unlawful or improper'. Moreover the interim managers can take over the charity completely, excluding trustees from decision making. One of the most striking aspects of the commission's five year investigation into the Aspinall Foundation is its relentlessness. It began informal enquiries in July 2020; in November 2020 it was sufficiently concerned to open a 'regulatory compliance case'; in March 2021 that became a 'statutory inquiry' – its most serious type of investigation – and now it has gone even further, sending in interim managers. The focus of the investigation has been the same throughout, flagging up concerns about 'governance; financial management; conflicts of interest; unauthorised trustee benefit; whether trustees have complied with their duties under the law.' Allegations against the Aspinall Foundation, mainly based on its accounts, include allowing trustees' chairman Mr Aspinall, 65, to rent its palatial HQ, Howletts House, for £2,500 a month; paying £150,000 to his wife, Victoria, for 'interior design'; making loans to Mr Aspinall - in 2019 he reportedly owed it £113,000, and paying £124,000 for accountancy to Alvarium, a company of which Charles Filmer, a former Aspinalls trustee was a director. Allegations against the Howletts Wild Animal Trust include paying a £30,000 a year pension to Mr Aspinall's step mother Lady Sarah Aspinall for 'gardening services'. The charity has defended itself in the past saying the payments to Victoria Aspinall were conducted 'at arms length', adding that the fees were 'subject to a rigorous benchmarking exercise to ensure the foundation received value for money'. It has said Mr Aspinall repaid all debts to the charity. The Howletts Wild Animal Trust has reportedly said previously that Lady Sarah was entitled to her £30,000 a year for 'prior service as head gardener for many years'. The Charity Commission has wide ranging powers to act against charities where wrongdoing is found. They range from removing trustees to taking over the running of the charity and winding it up completely. The leadership of the non profit-making and unconventional Aspinall Foundation has always resembled a high society charitable affair involving three generations of the casino owning Aspinalls, Brexit supporting tycoons, eccentric aristocrats, glamorous women and maverick Tories like Boris Johnson and his political and personal coterie. The foundation was created by Mr Aspinall's flamboyant father, gambling tycoon John Aspinall, in 1984. He was a close friend of fellow gambler Lord Lucan, who disappeared in 1974, and was also close to anti-EU campaigner Sir James Goldsmith, father of Zac and Ben. John Aspinall's Clermont Gambling club in London became the venue for celebrity nightclub Annabel's, opened by Mark Birley in the 1960s. Mark Birley's son, Robin, is a former trustee of the Aspinall Foundation, but his time there predates the Charity Commission's inquiries. Robin Birley, who owns the 5 Hertford St private club in Mayfair, renowned as a meeting place for wealthy Brexit supporters, gave £200,000 to Nigel Farage's UKIP party and £20,000 to Mr Johnson's successful Tory leadership campaign in 2019. Mr Birley is the half brother of Sir James Goldsmith's sons Zac and Ben who have both been trustees of the Aspinall Foundation, but also left before any inquiries were launched. Zac Goldsmith was given a peerage and ministerial post by fellow Old Etonian Mr Johnson as prime minister when he lost his Richmond, Surrey Commons seat in 2019. Shortly before becoming prime minister, Mr Johnson wrote a 1,000 word paean of praise to Mr Aspinall, commending his 'wonderful' conservation work in a Daily Telegraph article. Zac Goldsmith is also a mentor and close friend of Mrs Johnson. Her entree into the Tory Party, where she became its head of communications and met Mr Johnson, was as a young constituency campaigner for Zac Goldsmith. Ben Goldsmith was given a post on the board of the Department of the Environment – where his brother was a minister – in Mr Johnson's administration. Damian Aspinall, who like his father, once owned a casino, is reputedly worth £200 million. Mt Aspinall's daughter Tansy, whose mother Louise Sebag-Montefiire was Mr Aspinall's first wife, is a trustee of both the Aspinall Foundation and the Howletts Wild Animal Trust. It has also been suggested that the youngest of twice married Mr Aspinall's three daughters, Freya, a model and internet celebrity, could succeed him as chair of trustees at the Aspinall Foundation. Freya is the result of a separate relationship by Mr Aspinall with actress Donna Air. He also reportedly dated supermodels Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell. The Aspinall Foundation has also faced criticism for some of its conservation work. In 2014 it was claimed that some members of ten gorillas released to the wild in Africa by the charity were killed. Mr Aspinall blamed one of the gorillas for the killings.
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Troubleshooters sent in at wildlife charity linked to Carrie Johnson
Troubleshooters have been sent in to investigate a charity linked to Boris Johnson 's wife following claims that its funds were used improperly by the multimillionaire socialite who runs it. The Charity Commission has appointed a team of high-powered legal experts to act as interim managers and take over key decision-making at the Aspinall Foundation, run by former casino owner Damian Aspinall. According to the watchdog's code of conduct, interim managers are imposed on a charity when it believes there has been 'mismanagement and/or misconduct'. It defines misconduct as any 'criminal, unlawful or improper' act. The Aspinall Foundation is a global conservation group that releases zoo animals back into the wild, working with its sister charity the Howletts Wild Animal Trust, which runs two wildlife parks in Kent. Both charities have been under the Charity Commission's spotlight for five years, with a statutory inquiry launched in 2021. Its latest decision to send troubleshooters into the Aspinall Foundation over 'fresh issues of concern' marks a major tightening of the screw. Carrie Johnson was recruited by the Aspinall Foundation in January 2021 in a senior communications role on an estimated 'high five-figure salary' when her partner Mr Johnson, whom she married in May that year, was prime minister. Mr Johnson has been one of the charity's highest-profile cheerleaders. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by either of the Johnsons. The allegations against the Aspinall Foundation include allowing its chair, Mr Aspinall, to rent its headquarters, Howletts House – a neo-Palladian, 30-bedroom mansion in Kent, set in a 90-acre estate – for £2,500 a month, equivalent to the typical cost of renting a large house in nearby Canterbury. The rent was increased to £10,000 a month after a revaluation. Other allegations include paying £150,000 to Mr Aspinall's wife, Victoria, for 'interior design', as well as making loans to Mr Aspinall. In 2019, he reportedly owed the foundation £113,000. Allegations made against the Howletts Wild Animal Trust include paying Mr Aspinall's step mother Lady Sarah Aspinall a £30,000-a-year pension for 'gardening services'. In a statement to The Independent, the Charity Commission said: 'Our inquiry into the Aspinall Foundation is ongoing. Towards the end of last year, fresh issues of concern were identified requiring us to embark on a further phase of investigation, and our investigators are working hard to pursue these at pace. 'The commission has now appointed interim managers to the Aspinall Foundation, who will work alongside the existing trustees on specific areas in line with the charity's governing document.' The Charity Commission only imposes interim managers on a charity 'if it is satisfied that there has been misconduct and/or mismanagement' and it is considered 'necessary to protect the charity's property'. Misconduct 'includes any act that the person committing it knew – or ought to have known – was criminal, unlawful or improper'. Mismanagement is defined as 'any act that may result in charitable resources being misused – or the people who benefit from the charity being put at risk'. The Charity Commission troubleshooters have been tasked with making any decisions that cannot be made by the trustees because of 'a conflict of interest', and with 'reviewing the make-up of the board of trustees'. Crucially, they have also been ordered to find out whether any of the trustees – or their family members – 'received a direct or indirect benefit from the charity'. Mr Aspinall's daughter Tansy is a trustee of both the Aspinall Foundation and Howletts Wild Animal Trust. Multimillionaire and Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith, a former minister and a close friend of Mr Aspinall and both the Johnsons, was an Aspinall trustee until August 2019. Lord Goldsmith's brother Ben, a Tory donor who was given an advisory post in Mr Johnson's government, was also an Aspinall Foundation trustee. Both left before the Charity Commission launched any inquiries. A spokesperson for the Aspinall Foundation said: 'We welcome the inquiry by the Charity Commission and will continue to work with them transparently, but until that has concluded we are unable to comment further to press.' A spokesperson for the Howletts Wild Animal Trust said: 'With the Charity Commission's inquiry ongoing, we are unable to comment further.' Carrie Johnson could not be contacted. The Aspinall Foundation declined to say whether she is still an employee.
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Murder inquiry begins after teenager stabbed in ‘targeted attack' in Bury
Detectives have launched a murder investigation after a teenager died in Greater Manchester in a 'targeted attack', police have said. The 19-year-old man sustained several stab wounds and died later from his injuries. The victim was attacked just before 9pm on Friday in a car park on Market Street in Bury. No arrests have been made, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said. The incident is believed to have taken place at a small-sided football complex. DCI John Charlton, from GMP's major incident team, said: 'Firstly, our thoughts are with the victim's family and friends after this tragic and upsetting incident – our specially trained officers are supporting them at this difficult time. 'This incident will have shocked the community and distressed anyone who witnessed it, but we believe this was a targeted attack with no wider threat. 'We have several scenes in place with the investigation ongoing in order to identify and apprehend the offenders responsible. There will be officers in the area today and in the coming days as we are determined to bring the family the answers they deserve. 'If anyone has any information or was in the area at the time, they should contact us quoting log 3354-01/08/25.'
