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I have now had the Information Tribunal decision notice regarding my appeal against The Metropolitan Police and The Information Commissioners decision not to allow unlimited and unrestricted access to Special Branch registers and ledgers relating to 1888. The tribunal have ruled in favour of The Metropolitan Police and The Information Commissioners and dismissed my appeal citing Section 30 (2) of The Freedom of Information Act and their interpretation of that section as the main grounds for dismissing the appeal.
My interpretation of this part of the legislation and the evidence put before the tribunal was in total contrast. However it should be noted that as far as the public interest factor was concerned which the tribunal also had to consider and had it been engaged, would have overruled the above part of the legislation, the tribunal were not in agreement and this issue was decided on a majority decision against me of two against one.
The full details of the tribunals decision will be posted on the internet by the office of the Information Tribunal on Monday should anyone wish to read the decision notice in full.
I have reviewed the decision and will be taking legal advice with consideration being given to lodging an appeal with The Upper Tier Information Tribunal.
As is known during the appeal process the Metropolitan Police provided me with the details of two entries appertaining to The Whitechapel Murders from the registers which I had identified by viewing the registers in their now redacted form.
The specific entries referred to were as follows...-
Under a specific entry titled “Jack the Ripper” the entry reads “The name given to Wilson at Bushmills
Under a second entry relating to a file submitted by “Chief Inspector Littlechild” the entry reads “Suspect O`Brien & the Whitechapel Murders”
In addition I obtained from a confidential source details of another entry which is purported to be in the register this entry reads “R Churchill- Perpetrator of the Whitechapel Murders”
I would like to thank all those casebook members who have supported me over the past three years whilst this long and protracted appeals process has taken place.
Despite losing the appeal the quest to gain access has not been totally in vain. Including the details set out in the aforementioned police disclosure, we also have the details of two other names said to have been connected to the murders. None of these names would have been forthcoming if the appeal had not taken place.
In addition during the evidence gathering process to support the appeal other new and significant evidence and information has been uncovered from police files which must now cast a major doubt about the viability of several of the accepted ripper suspects.
Further assessment and a full evaluation of this new material is still ongoing.
My interpretation of this part of the legislation and the evidence put before the tribunal was in total contrast. However it should be noted that as far as the public interest factor was concerned which the tribunal also had to consider and had it been engaged, would have overruled the above part of the legislation, the tribunal were not in agreement and this issue was decided on a majority decision against me of two against one.
The full details of the tribunals decision will be posted on the internet by the office of the Information Tribunal on Monday should anyone wish to read the decision notice in full.
I have reviewed the decision and will be taking legal advice with consideration being given to lodging an appeal with The Upper Tier Information Tribunal.
As is known during the appeal process the Metropolitan Police provided me with the details of two entries appertaining to The Whitechapel Murders from the registers which I had identified by viewing the registers in their now redacted form.
The specific entries referred to were as follows...-
Under a specific entry titled “Jack the Ripper” the entry reads “The name given to Wilson at Bushmills
Under a second entry relating to a file submitted by “Chief Inspector Littlechild” the entry reads “Suspect O`Brien & the Whitechapel Murders”
In addition I obtained from a confidential source details of another entry which is purported to be in the register this entry reads “R Churchill- Perpetrator of the Whitechapel Murders”
I would like to thank all those casebook members who have supported me over the past three years whilst this long and protracted appeals process has taken place.
Despite losing the appeal the quest to gain access has not been totally in vain. Including the details set out in the aforementioned police disclosure, we also have the details of two other names said to have been connected to the murders. None of these names would have been forthcoming if the appeal had not taken place.
In addition during the evidence gathering process to support the appeal other new and significant evidence and information has been uncovered from police files which must now cast a major doubt about the viability of several of the accepted ripper suspects.
Further assessment and a full evaluation of this new material is still ongoing.
Thus he was included, if indirectly.
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