Mermaids vs LGB Alliance and Charity Commissioner - First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Thread 3

[nauticant]

The Tribunal started on 9 September, witness testimony started on 12 September.

To obtain access to view the proceedings, send a request email to [email protected] about case CA/2021/0013 - Mermaids vs Charity Commissioner and LGB Alliance and ask for permission to join. You then have to provide certain information and agree to a judge's direction in order to be able to join.

There is also live tweeting from twitter.com/tribunaltweets.

Abbreviations:

J or judge: Presiding Judge, Judge Lynn Griffin
AJ or Judge: Assisted by Judge Joe Neville
MG: Mermaids counsel is Michael Gibbon KC
KM: LGB Alliance counsel is Karon Monaghan KC
AR: Karon is assisted by Akua Reindorf
IS: Charity Commission counsel is Iain Steele

(Also the witnesses, PR: Paul Roberts, JN: John Nicolson. BB: Belinda Bell, BJ: Beverley Jackson, KH: Kate Harris, and EG: Eileen Gallagher.)

Thread 1: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4629679-mermaids-versus-lgb-alliance-in-court-today
Thread 2: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4632780-mermaids-vs-lgb-alliance-and-charity-commissioner-first-tier-tribunal-general-regulatory-chameber-thread-2
Thread 3: ongoing

Witnesses for the applicant (Mermaids):

Paul Roberts - CEO of LGBT Consortium (12 September)
John Nicolson MP - Deputy Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights (13 September)
Dr Belinda Bell - Chair of trustees of Mermaids (13 September)

Witnesses for the respondent (LGB Alliance):

Beverley Jackson - Co-founder and trustee of LGB Alliance (13-14 September)
Kate Harris - Co-founder and trustee of LGB Alliance (14-15 September)
Eileen Gallagher OBE - Chair of trustees of LGB Alliance (15 September)

Witness Statements:

Paul Roberts: lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Paul-Roberts-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf
John Nicolson MP - lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/John-Nicolson-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf
Dr Belinda Bell: lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Belinda-Bell-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf
Beverley Jackson: lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Bev-Jackson-Witness-Statement-Exhibits-1.pdf
Kate Harris: lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Kate-Harris-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf
Eileen Gallagher (two statements): lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Eileen-Gallagher-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Eileen-Gallagher-Second-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf

Submissions:

lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Volume-4-Submissions-CA.2021.0013.pdf

(Header format follows the gold standard established by @ickky)

post updated by MNHQ at OP's request

Those of us who are familiar with court proceedings via video link are used to all sorts of issues and delays. There is nothing underhand about it - just an unfortunate reality.

The issue of open justice here is clashing with the reality of shortage of court/tribunal time and the resulting pressures. If the judge waits for everyone to re-join, she runs the risk of needing further court time for this case, to the detriment of other court users.

Anyway, we are back in.

In too! 27 waiting now

I find this MG's voice very soporific

Thanks Dworky.

I just double checked my email from the court and it definitely says the hearing is to start at 10am. So it seems unfair to say we should have been all ready at 9 30.

Still waiting.

Yep, he could make a fortune curing insomnia.

I was logged on at 9.45 and wasn't let in until after 10 anyway.

can someone link to tt please I can’t find todays thread

In fairness to the clerk he has been fielding phone calls to the tech people, answering chat questions and checking people off against a list.

Only 16 in the lobby now. And they're going for a break any minute.

twitter.com/tribunaltweets/status/1589548506955788290

I hope you all know that once you are in YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE

twitter.com/tribunaltweets

The link in the header is broken because it has a full stop at the end.

Yes, email stated 10am which was when I got a phonecall. I logged in at 10.10 & still not in.

And now they're having a break!

I'm paying for this you know.

Brilliant. I was just disconnected as I 'timed out.'

Scrolling through the guests I see 3 people from the charity commission and at least 3 names that I recognise as journalists

Fuck me, I'm in.

Interesting thanks @BernardBlacksMolluscs

MG seemed to take a very long time to say very little. I could only grasp snippets of meaning : words can have different meanings in different contexts, not all people will agree with the stated purposes/objects of a charity. It could just be that I was nodding off at crucial points.
Can anyone elucidate on what he just said.

Thanks @heathspeedwell& @nauticant

lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Volume-4-Submissions-CA.2021.0013.pdf

MG said statements can be reasonable even if the average reasonable person thinks they are unreasonable. Or something like that. Sounds pretty desperate to me tbh

I've had to log back in as, after an hour, I was disconnected. I'm starting to take it personally 😅

"I don't need to ask you to turn it up"

I think MG is saying that Mermaids have no objection to the LGBA or their aims, but the language they use?