An Open Letter to Sandra Laville of The Guardian (sandra.laville@guardian.co.uk and @sandralaville) and Sophie Hoskins, Chief Press Officer of the Crown Prosecution Service (sophie.hoskins@cps.gsi.gov.uk) and Jonathan Collett, Director of Communications of the Press Complaints Commission, jonathan.collett@pcc.org.uk and [I think] @JonCollett).
Dear Sandra, Sophie and Jonathan,
I read with interest an article by Sandra on the front page of today’s printed Guardian and here online in which Sandra informs us of the contents of a “file” now in the possession of Sophie’s organisation.
Sandra informs us that the file, created by one party (“detectives investigating the incident”, “the Met”) was handed to another (“the Crown Prosecution Service”, “prosecutors”, “CPS”) and reports on the contents of that file. Sandra reports a “fact” (my quotes) which is made public in the article that the file contains “no evidence that officers lied”.
I thank Sandra for bringing this fact to my attention as me and the lads down the pub have found the case both interesting, sad and amusing at various times.
I would very much like to hear this fact directly from the primary source, the CPS or Met Police but am having trouble doing so. I can not find this fact on their websites and enclose an example of my searches.
(Note that these websites contain zero mentions of “plebgate” and “Andrew Mitchell”, a strange oversight given the public profile afforded to these words.)
Google and Twitter have also not helped me identify the primary source for this fact. That the fact is not easy to find indicates:
(a) The fact has been published on CPS or Met Police websites or elsewhere but I can’t find it (the most likely).
(b) The fact has not been published on CPS or Met Police websites (quite possible).
(c) The fact is somewhere else officially in the public domain (a printed report perhaps)
(d) The fact is not in the public domain online (hopefully this is not true).
If the fact is public information, may I ask any of you to provide a copy to me or a link to where I may find it? If the fact is not public information, then I think we either have an “information asymmetry” problem or a “breach of security”. ["Information asymmetry" (Wikipedia) is is where different information is provided to different people, a practice which is not compatible with the transparency, openness and accountability of national organisations like the Met Police, the CPS or The Guardian].
If it is a breach of security, would you please let me know the prosecuting authority and where their announcement of the commencement of investigation is?
Many thanks
Mark Adams on behalf of four blokes with a pint of beer
PS Sophie, you are “Chief Press Officer” of the CPS and yet I can not find you on Twitter. As “Chief Press Officer” I can not believe that you do not use Twitter. Jonathan you appear to be on Twitter but do not openly identify yourself as who you are. This feels “covert” to me and surely such behaviour is not compatible with CPS or PCC policies.
#plebgate #laville #cps #pcc #guardian #primarysource #pubqt #wewantthetruth #youcanthandlethetruth
