RDH Trial- Day Two

 

See here for day one: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/07/rdh-trial.html.
I got up at five AM for a second time to catch the coach to London. Luckily there is a very good regular coach service between Oxford and London precluding the need for accommodation there which is very expensive. As I've said earlier, I always feel very uncomfortable entering the Royal Courts of Justice; that Dracula's castle in the heart of the capital gives me the creeps, and I'm not even the one in trouble... yet. Today consisted entirely of a series of three cross-examinations by Mr Oakley, Richard D Hall's barrister. The first was with somebody I will call "Miss B"; she is Eve's educational carer. She said she became aware of Richard's presence more recently than the others; it was when the Panorama documentary was broadcast in October 2022. Eve herself first heard about Richard the previous summer, when the family decided to nickname him "Stalkerman". They believed that Richard was "making money!" from conspiracy theories and that this is "unfair!" (In the portal link below I explain why that very unoriginal accusation is false.) Eve's access to the internet is closely supervised, seeing as she is a mentally and physically handicapped young adult. Mr Oakley accepted that the presence of cameras and the media at Eve's college was upsetting for her, but that was nothing to do with Richard. Eve's parents did not try to reassure Eve that "Stalkerman" was not going to come back and "get her!"; why not? Eve apparently is generally very nervous and needs constant comforting. The second witness of the day was a "Mr Ll". He is a friend of Martin Hibbert and he claims to have heard of Richard as long ago as 2018. He told Martin about it, but the latter dismissed it as unimportant. Mr Ll says that Mr Hibbert is a very proud man who masks his feelings. Mr Oakley repeated the point he had made to Mr Hibbert and Miss B, that any anxiety and trauma the family was experiencing, was not Richard's fault; it was due to the general aftermath of the event in Manchester. Richard was pretty much a transient figure in their lives until the beginning of Mr Hibbert's media career. Mr Ll said that "denial of their story", meaning the official story of how the Manchester Arena incident had taken place, had harmed Eve and Martin. This is another very hackneyed falsehood that is wheeled out whenever some disaster occurs, see: https://hpanwo-bb.blogspot.com/2009/01/show-some-respect.html. Mr Ll also claimed Richard had made an "implied threat" to a paramedic in one of his videos when in fact all Richard did was make his viewers aware that he had more information about that man that he might release at a later date. Mr Ll echoed one of the points made by Mr Hibbert, that he felt intimidated in the courtroom by the presence of... wait for it!... us! Richard's supporters, people like me. It is true that dozens of us have turned up to act as observers/McKenzie friends whenever Richard is in court; but, as far as I have seen, we have behaved ourselves impeccably. I have never approached Martin Hibbert on any of the occasions I have been with him in the Royal Courts of Justice. I believe none of us would be as stupid and counterproductive as to behave in a hostile manner towards him. In fact, at one time today I was passing through a door at the same time as Mr Ll and held it open for him. He said: "No, after you." I passed through the door and replied: "Thank you." We have a right to be there under the principle of open justice.

The most interesting witness was the last one of the day, "Miss G" who is Eve's mother and Martin Hibbert's ex-partner. She was not present in the courtroom and called in via CVP, which is similar to Skype or Zoom. Mr Oakley asked her how she felt about Eve's father's media presence; his TV and radio interviews and the new book he has just published. She shrugged and said it was his business seeing as they are separated and he is an adult. She trusts him and doesn't believe Eve could be harmed by the publicity. Like Mr Hibbert, Miss G is uncertain about the details of Richard D Hall's influence on their lives. Like the others, she first heard about him from Martin's discussions with her in mid-2021 and had no previous knowledge of him. She has only watched one of his videos and read a very short passage from his book. Richard's barrister then challenged her with many of the same points he had made to Mr Hibbert. Why is this a problem when Richard only approached their home on one occasion almost two years previously? Why had they never reported Richard to the police on any other occasion apart from summer of 2021? Did she know that Richard had stayed on a public highway and had not trespassed on her property? Miss G then contradicts Miss B by saying that she regularly informs her daughter about online content related to Richard, such as showing her Marianna Spring's TV documentary. She allows Eve to use the internet unsupervised, but says her daughter only watches music videos when left to her own devices. She says that Eve is still scared of Richard, but how does she know so much about him? Again, it seems that it is those around her who are actively keeping Richard fresh in her mind. Why don't they reassure her that he has gone and will never come back? Then something incredible was revealed, it turns out that Richard had had communication with the Hibbert's solicitor long before the harassment lawsuit against him had been initiated. The law firm had sent Richard what is effectively a cease-and-desist notice and Richard had replied that he was willing to remove some of the material that had been published by Mr Hibbert that he had reproduced, which he is not obliged to under established journalistic practice; if the family would accept that he had done nothing wrong. Miss G replied in a similar vein to her ex; she did not know this correspondence had taken place. That is extraordinary. I, personally, would be incensed if any solicitor acting for me tried to make secret negotiations with another party while keeping me in the dark. Somebody is lying here; either the family or their lawyers. Either way, this is a very weird situation. Of course, if this exchange between Richard and the solicitors had been made in the open, then that changes everything. It suggests a desire on Richard's part to deescalate and close the case amicably. The trial continues.
See here for day three: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/07/rdh-trial-day-three.html.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/07/rdh-lawsuit-mini-portal.html.