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A Stalinist NHS Chief vs a Good Doctor

Norman Scarth | 29.11.2009 22:25 | Repression | South Coast


During the Cold War, the Western Governments denounced the very real abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union. Horrifically, much the same is happening in Britain now.. This is a letter to a Dr. Edward Silver to appeal for the release of Maurice Kirk from unlawful detention and attempts to incarcerate him in a psychiatric hospital through a corrupt system.


To: Dr. Edward Silver,
Ashworth Hospital, Bronte House,
Parkbourn, Maghull,
LIVERPOOL L31 1HW
E-mail:  communications@merseycare.nhs.uk
Switchboard Telephone No.: 0151 473 0303

Dear Dr. Silver,
1) Your letter of 24/11/09 received ... . I am most grateful that you have taken the trouble to reply, & especially for your invitation to send my thoughts to you. This suggests that you are not a puppet of The State as, sadly, so many are (semantics perhaps, but I will try to put FACTS to you rather than ‘thoughts’). You asked me to send my thoughts by post, but time is precious (both for Kirk & myself), & I hope I have guessed your email address correctly. (I had not).

2) During the Cold War, the Western Governments denounced the very real abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union. Horrifically, much the same is happening in Britain now, but, Russia & the West being on more or less friendly terms, there as no-one to tell of it, other than the victims, who are, of course, easily dismissed as lunatics. In the Soviet Union, any psychiatrists who did not go along with the wishes of The State would have been in great danger themselves. As Bloch & Reddaway suggest, the good ones kept ‘dissidents’ in hospital to save them from the Siberian Gulags.

3) As one who fought against the Hitler Regime, I am better able than most to recognise the rise of a similar regime in Britain. For want of a better word, I describe them as the ‘Nu-Nazis’. In Britain it has been done by stealth, rather than blatant force, as with the Old Nazis. I have already sent to you extracts from the book ‘Russia’s Political Hospitals’ by Professor Sydney Bloch & Peter Reddaway. If you have never seen it I urge you to obtain a copy (it is available from Amazon). Reading it, I felt that almost every paragraph was echoed by what is happening here. So, along with the (hidden) evils of Hitler’s Germany, we have those of Stalinist Russia.

4) Dr. Tegwynn Williams has inadvertently let the cat out of the bag in his Report, showing himself up (& the government), by admitting that Kirk was incarcerated to prevent him progressing his court actions against the police. This is diabolical: It is NOT what the Mental Health Acts or Mental Hospitals are for!

5) That someone should want Maurice Kirk incarcerated in a High Security Hospital shows that the matter is escalating out of control & out of all proportion. That may, perhaps, be a good thing, & will enable the truth to come out.
6) I understand that when you made a visit to HMP Cardiff & spoke to Mr. Kirk through the cell door, you expressed surprise that he had been declared ‘Fit to Plead’, but NOT fit to conduct his own case, & must be defended by a lawyer. This is a gross violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights & our own Human Rights Act.

7) I must tell you that Mr. Kirk has just telephoned & told me that Judge Seys-Llewellyn, who presided over the County Court Hearing yesterday (when Kirk was present, as Claimant in his Civil Action against SW Police) said that he felt Kirk was well capable of presenting his own case. This has been confirmed to me by someone who was in court as an observer.

8) Kirk also tells me that the District Judge who presided at today’s video link ‘hearing’ in Cardiff Magistrates’ Court also said he considered him capable of presenting his case. That hearing must surely be unprecedented: a prisoner, prosecuting the police, from inside the prison, only across the road from the Courthouse?!?!?.

9) If he could be taken to the County Court (in handcuffs), why not the Magistrates’ Court? Very strange. Kirk’s request that he be given a copy of the recording of the hearing was refused by the District Judge. Should you decide, as I’m sure you will that nothing in Kirk’s behaviour warrants him being incarcerated in a ‘hospital’, only the nonsensical criminal charge against him will remain. Obviously, it should be dropped, but if his enemies are determined to persist, no normal jury could possibly find him guilty.

10) There is much more that I could say, many more facts to give, but as said, time is precious. Kirk should not have to suffer this torment for a moment longer than possible. As for me: At my age, exhaustion, enfeeblement, a heart attack, a stroke or my demise cannot be far away. So, I am anxious to get this to you as soon as possible. I am sure you are a good man who will do your best to end this horror.

Sincerely,
Norman Scarth
.
WW2 Veteran, Parliamentary Candidate,
Investigative Author & Publisher, Successful Law Reformer,
Associate of the Article 6 Group,
Founder & Leader of the Anti-Crime Party,
Human Rights Activist, Prison Reform Activist,
ADDRESS: 36 Anvil Court Chambers,
BRADFORD BD8 7QW
Tel: (01274) 541 213. Mobile: 0779 435 8691.
Email:  enscarth@hotmail.com

Endnote, to other recipients of this document: What I failed to mention to Dr. Silva, was that by doing the right thing he would not be doing it only for Maurice, & certainly not for me, but, hopefully, to prevent Britain becoming even more of a Police State than it is already, possibly even to reverse the trend. NS.

Norman Scarth