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Archbishop Nicholls and the Catholic Education Service: An Apology

John Rhys-Burgess | 22.10.2005 13:45 | Education | Repression | Social Struggles | Oxford

The head of the Plater College Foundation apologises to Archbishop Nichols and the Catholic Education Service

I have received the following letter from Wiggin LLP, Solicitors dated 20 October 2005 which states as follows:-

"We write in respect to an entry made by you on 2 August 2005 at 21.20 on "Indymedia" at the website address

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/oxford/2005/06/314693.html

("the Website").

Our clients are considering an action against you for defamation for your entry on the Website where you not only suggested that Mr. Bradshaw has no compunction about lying and clearly intended to mislead the court but you also said (among other things):

"Bradshaw is a creature of Archbishop Nichols whom I have no hesitation in denouncing, along with the whole of the Catholic Education Service, as a bunch of unprincipled liars and hypocrites with the conscience of thieves and assassins."

We assume that we do not need to set out to you why this is highly defamatory and why our clients have an extremely strong case if they choose to pursue such an action.

Please let is have your proposals for compensating our clients together with your undertaking that you will remove the offending words immediately. Our clients will, in addition, require an apology from you, in words
approved by ourselves.

Upon due consideration of these remarks, I have therefore decided to unreservdely apologise to Archbishop Nichols and to Mr. Martin Bradshaw of the Catholic Education Service. As a Roman Catholic, my remarks were intemperate, lacking in charity and injudicious.

Nevertheless, I conscientiously believe that my remarks were fuily justified and true in every respect. and this remains my unalterable view.

John Rhys-Burgess
- e-mail: JohnRhysBurgess@mail2world.com
- Homepage: http://JohnRhysBurgess.tripod.com

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