Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Dear Ben Lewis,
Everyone loves suing big companies these days but sometimes I wonder whether their claims should even make it to the courtroom.  You are considering suing McDonald’s after being left with horrific burns from a cup of tea when it spilled over your right leg.  You cannot work, drive, or shower easily due to [...]

 Dear Kenny MacAskill,
It looks to me as though you, as Scottish Justice Secretary, have spotted a rather unusual loophole in laws designed to protect people from stalking and harrassment.  Ministers in Scotland are currently considering a new law which would help stop people stalking and harassing their victims by text or online.  Currently those who behave in [...]

Dear Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle,
Yet again, I am dismayed by the lack of protection for free speech in this country.  It seems as though upsetting and offending people is still illegal in this country, yet the USA and no doubt many other developed nations who offer constitutional protection for free speech make the UK look [...]

“So basically you can say that I can go sit on somebody and get probation? I feel there wasn’t no justice.”
- the sister of Mikal Middlestone-Bey, who was killed after his 21-stone girlfriend sat on him during an argument.  During her trial, Mia Landingham (pictured below) apologised for killing eight-stone Mikal – the father of her three children.  [...]

“necessity defence”
- the name given to the tactic being used by the legal team representing Scott Roeder, who has already confessed to the killing of a leading abortion provider in Kansas, USA, last year.  This defence would allow Roeder to argue that the murder was a justified act because of his belief that in killing one man he was saving [...]

Dear Chris Grayling,
Sometimes when I get things right or make an accurate prediction on this blog, I admit to feeling a small sense of smugness – just like every other armchair politico.  Today, however, is not a day for smugness.  When I wrote to you only a matter of weeks ago about Munir Hussain, who was jailed for [...]

Dear readers,
I’m sure you, like me, were spitting fire when you heard about Harriet Harman being fined £350 and getting three points on her license after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention.  Sadly, the charges of failing to report an accident and not leaving her details at the scence of the accident were irrelevant because she [...]

“You will have a hard job convincing motorists this is anything other than a stealth tax to shore up a creaking system strapped for cash.”
- Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, speaking after it was announced that motorists in England and Wales fined for minor offences now face having to pay bigger penalties [...]

Dear readers,
The recent remarks by Chris Grayling about homeowners supposedly being given more powers to defend their home was poorly judged in my opinion, and it seems I’m not the only one who finds Grayling’s proposals largely unworkable.  Keir Starmer, the Director of Prosecutions, has now rejected Grayling’s promise to review legislation to ensure that prosecutions were [...]

Dear Chris Grayling,
You certainly won yourself a few fans among Daily Mail readers yesterday with your pledge to ‘protect’ householders who defend themselves from burglars.  Your plan is to review legislation on householders’ rights in the event of a burglar breaking into a home, following a recent case that left many Daily Mail readers angry.  Unfortunately, pandering to one [...]

For those who missed it in my blog roundup last night, Next Left has the details:
A victory for Carter-Ruck and Trafigura in the High Court as the BBC have offered this statement in open court with regard to Newsnight’s reporting of the dumping of toxic waste by Trafigura off the Ivory Coast. That Trafigura illegally [...]

Dear Lillian Ladele,
Your refusal to conduct civil partnership ceremonies because they were against your Christian beliefs has become one of the most intriguing court battles that I have ever seen.  Yesterday, Appeal Court judges ruled that your infamous refusal constituted a breach of equality laws and that the right to express a strong Christian faith [...]

From the BBC:
Lawyers for US golfer Tiger Woods have obtained a UK injunction preventing certain information purportedly about him being published. The order was granted by a judge at the High Court in London, and concerns alleged information which cannot be disclosed for legal reasons. Last week Woods apologised to his family for “personal sins”. [...]

…or so say the six doctors who have started legal action for a new inquest into his death.  I’ll let the Telegraph do the rest:
The action is being taken because six doctors are convinced that the original verdict of suicide is unsafe and should be overturned.  Some suspect that Dr Kelly, 59, was murdered shortly [...]

Dear Jack Straw,
Seeing as the BNP and postal workers strike will dominate the news today, you have avoided what should have been an almighty public backlash against an absolutely shocking abuse of our democracy.  Plans to introduce secret inquiries into controversial deaths from which the public and bereaved families could be banned are to be [...]

From the Independent: The far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders today won his appeal against the Government’s decision to ban him from entering Britain. The politician, who has been accused of Islamophobia, was told at the start of this year by the then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that he would be refused entry should he attempt to [...]

Dear Alex Hilton,
One wonders whether a lack of intelligence is a pre-requisite for wanting to join the Labour Party, given the dearth of talent in the Cabinet and among the parliamentary party.  It seems as though the same question may apply to prospective parliamentary candidates like yourself as well.  Yesterday you admitted that you had created [...]

Dear Mark Serwotka,
Very few people in the public sector are likely to escape totally unscathed from post-2010 election cuts in spending.  Pensions are likely to be hit seeing as the total public sector pensions liability has already topped £1 trillion and is still rising fast.  In addition, other measures are likely to be put in [...]

“I feel proud to live in a country where you’re not persecuted for your opinions. That right has to be protected. Even though people are now taking shots at me on the web, I believe those people have a right to their opinions — and their anonymity.”
- Rosemary Port, who is suing Google for $15 million because she [...]

“No one ever seemed able to answer the simple question of what exactly Jennie had done wrong. We say there is an undercurrent of anti-Christian sentiment which she has come up against. If she had been from another religious background, nothing would have happened.”
- Sean Kehoe, senior partner of the law firm Advance Legal who [...]

Dear Mark France,
There have been plenty of high-profile casualties from the MP expenses scandal that tore through the Houses of Parliament just a few months ago.  Sadly, your idiocy has cost you your job as a civil servant as part of this saga as well. 
You have been sacked by managers at the Jobcentre in Bromsgrove [...]

Dear Liskula Cohen,
Although your name recognition was pretty much zero in the UK before this week, your US legal case may have ramifications that roll on for years.  You have won a landmark court battle to reveal the identity of an anonymous blogger who called you a “skank” and an “old hag”.  This case sets [...]

“If you want to protect your money from the powers of the court, don’t get married.”
- Nicholas Mostyn QC, known as “Mr Payout” for the generous sums he has won for ex-wives.  John Cleese hit the news earlier this week after his wife waltzed away from their 16-year marriage with £8 million in cash and [...]

“It is a hypocritical British system that allows the rich to seek treatment but the poor to face prosecution”
- Dr Michael Irwin, 78, who has been questioned by officers for helping a terminally ill man pay for assisted suicide

Dear Miriam Saleh,
Thank you so much for being brave enough to speak about what has happened to you.  Too often, religious communities do not speak about their internal dealings, which can sometimes lead to great injustices going unnoticed.  The appallingly anti-women bias held in some sections of the Jewish community is almost as disturbing as [...]