Reply to Seckford by James Hargrave

7/31/2019 Reply to Seckford by James Hargrave

1/21

James&Hargrave&http://blog.hargrave.org.uk&

Email:&[email protected]&!

6!July!2012!!Mr!Finbow!Chair!of!Seckford!Foundation!Woodbridge!Suffolk!!Dear!Mr!Finbow,!!I!am!sorry!you!have!decided!to!write!to!me!in!a!threatening!manner.!I!know!that!you!trained!and!practiced!as!a!solicitor!but!this!letter!was!sent!in!your!capacity!as!Chairman!of!the!Seckford!Foundation.!Basically!the!Chair!of!Governors!of!Woodbridge!School.!!!I!quite!understand!that!you!do!not!like!what!I!have!written!and!would!rather!I!had!not!written!it!but!that!does!not!mean!that!my!behavior!is!harassment!or!that!what!I!have!written!is!defamatory.!Indeed!it!is!interesting!that!you!do!not!give!a!single!concrete!example!of!any!words!used!and!why!you!allege!they!are!defamatory!just!vague!statements!that!whole!Blog!posts!are!defamatory.!!In!this!letter!I!will!respond!to!the!allegations!you!have!made!and!to!the!

threatening!statements!at!the!end!of!your!letter.!I!am!assuming!that!you!have!been!mis informed!about!these!incidents!and!that!you!are!interested!honestly!in!establishing!the!truth.!!Before!I!reply!I!would!like!to!draw!you!attention!to!a!recent!High!Court!case!involving!a!Councillor!accused!of!criticizing!the!way!the!council!was!run!and!individual!councilors!online.!You!can!read!a!report!here!in!the!Telegraph:!!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/lawreports/9243915/Politicians should have thick skins judge rules in bitchy councillor case.html !(Enc!1)!!The!Telegraph!summarise!the!ruling:!!

But$the$High$Court$said $that$although$his$words$were$sarcastic$and$mocking,$he$was$entitled$to$complain$about$the$way$council$meetings$were$run.$$Mr$Justice$Beatson$concluded$that$Mr$Calvers$right$to$freedom$of$expression$should$trump$the$earlier$ruling$by$the$Adjudication$Panel$for$Wales$that$he$had$broken$the$code$of$conduct$for$local$government.$$


2/21

The$judge$said$it$was$important$to$remember$the$traditions$of$robust$debate,$which$may$include$some$degree$of$lampooning$of$those$who$place$themselves$in$public$office.$

!This!I!think!is!perhaps!where!you!have!mis understood!my!actions.!Your!recent!foray!into!free!schools!has!placed!you!in!public!life!spending!public!money.!As!such!others!and!myself!have!a!democratic!and!legal!right!to!robustly!criticise!and!this!includes!as!the!judge!said!a!degree!of!lampooning.!!Indeed!it!is!interesting!that!I!am!emailed!a!letter!with!threats!of!defamation!from!the!Seckford!Foundation!Free!Schools!Trust.!It!is!a!well!established!principal!of!public!law!that!public!authorities!(including!state!schools!and!their!Governing!Body)!cannot!makes!claims!for!defamation.!!The!reasons!are!obvious.!The!right!of!the!public!to!freedom!of!expression!is!more!important!than!the!possible!damage!to!a!public!authority!by!defamation.!!Indeed!under!public!law,!public!authorities!are!placed!under!significant!additional!scrutiny!through!the!judicial!review!process.!!All!of!this!is!an!established!part!of!public!life.!Schools!have!to!put!up!with!at!times!unreasonable!comments,!as!do!local!councils.!Those!who!dont!like!this!do!not!have!to!engage!in!public!life.!As!they!say!if!you!cant!stand!the!heat!!Now!of!course!none!of!this!means!that!harassment!is!acceptable.!But!I!have!not!harassed!anyone!and!I!note!that!you!were!not!present!at!and!did!not!witness!any!

of!the!alleged!incidents.!!Mr!Watson!in!particular!as!the!Director!of!the!Seckford!Foundation!ought!to!be!be!able!to!handle!a!bit!of!criticism,!heckling!and!the!presence!of!protestors.!All!of!these!are!part!of!public!life!in!a!democratic!country.!Yes!I!understand!it!is!probably!a!bit!of!a!culture!shock!but!had!Mr!Watson!himself!adopted!a!more!conciliatory!approach!I!think!many!of!these!issues!would!have!been!avoided.!!My!response!to!your!allegations!is!below:!!

1. Yes!I!did!phone!the!Foundation!and!speak!to!Mr!Watsons!PA.!I!accept!that!Mr!Watson!was!on!that!occasion!genuinely!unavailable!however!on!a!number!of!previous!occasions!I!had!been!informed!he!was!in!a!meeting!when!I!do!not!believe!this!was!true.!Nobody!is!forced!to!spend!time!on!a!telephone!call,!she!could!simply!have!put!the!phone!down.!!!Mr!Watsons!PA!was!polite!to!me!and!did!not!seem!to!have!a!problem!spending!time!on!the!phone.!!By!refusing!to!speak!to!people!such!as!myself!and!leaving!staff!such!as!Mr!Watsons!PA!to!shield!the!Foundations!senior!staff!I!think!you!are!placing!

your!staff!in!a!very!difficult!position.!!


3/21

!!

2. I!did!attend!the!meeting!at!Blackbourne!Middle!School.!I!am!not!quite!sure!why!you!mention!the!fact!comments!were!live!streamed!to!my!Blog,!is!something!wrong!with!reporting!in!this!way?!!I!was!not!aggressive!towards!Mr!Watson!although!I!did!question!him!robustly!and!heckle!him.!This!is!well!within!the!tradition!of!public!meetings.!Around!100!people!were!present!maybe!if!you!want!an!impartial!view!you!should!ask!the!Headteacher!at!Blackbourne.!!Indeed!a!few!people!in!the!audience!had!a!go!at!me,!claiming!I!didnt!live!in!Suffolk.!I!argued!back!but!they!had!every!right!to!heckle!me.!!

3. I!didnt!attend!the!meeting!in!Ixworth.!Following!this!meeting!a!newspaper!story! was !removed!by!Archant!and!it! was !then!re written.!I!was!specifically!told!by!their!newsroom!that!this!followed!a!complaint!by!Seckford.!What!part!of!this!are!you!denying?!!!

4. Did!you!actually!read!the!Blog!post?!It!was!a!parody!on!the!Dads!Army!opening!credits!and!more!at!the!expense!of!Jeremy!Rowe!and!his!constant!Churchill!references!on!Twitter.!I!no!more!think!Graham!Watson!is!Hitler!than!I!think!Jeremy!Rowe!is!Churchill.!!!!The!post!came!at!the!end!of!a!week!when!many!of!the!Ixworth!Free!School!supporters!were!engaged!in!quite!an!interesting!debate!on!the!comments!

of!my!Blog.!This!stopped!abruptly!when!Mr!Watson!told!them!not!to!engage!on!social!media,!I!understand!members!of!the!group!that!continued!were!threatened!in!a!similar!way!by!Mr!Watson.!Is!this!what!you!meant!by!engaging!in!robust!debate?!!

5. !I!did!phone!the!Seckford!Foundation!that!morning.!I!was!certainly!unhappy!when!I!called!as:!

a. Mr!Watson!had!just!suggested!that!myself!and!others!were!a!bad!example!to!children!on!BBC!Radio!Suffolk!!a!comment!which!I!believe!actually!is!defamatory!especially!when!aimed!at!educational!professionals!and!Governors.!

b. Mr!Watson!has!suggested!that!my!Blog!post!reporting!inducements!to!Beccles!Free!School!parents!was!untrue.!He!gave!a!very!misleading!interview!that!made!it!sound!like!free!uniforms!and!meals!had!not!been!offered.!He!was!forced!to!admit!later!that!day!at!Waveney!that!this!answer!was!based!on!a!pedantic!(and!indeed!false)!definition!of!inducement.!The!Councillors!were!not!impressed!at!all!with!this.!!

When!I!called!the!Free!Schools!office!I!asked!a!straightforward!simple!question!!were!free!uniforms,!lunches!and!possibly!iPods!being!

offered!to!Beccles!Free!School!pupils!or!not.!!!


4/21


5/21

sped!off!from!a!backdoor!not!so!anyone!could!identify!his!car,!why!would!they!want!to?!As!you!can!see!from!the!photo!you!cant!really!identify!the!car!in!any!case!although!my!son!informs!me!it!is!an!extremely!expensive!Mercedes.!

!The!Hitler! Downfall !video!has!been!extremely!popular!and!I!expect!it!has!hit!a!bit!of!a!nerve.!There!are!hundreds!if!not!thousands!of!these!Downfall!videos!on!the!Internet!about!all!kinds!of!issues.!Rather!than!spend!time!explaining!the!whole!concept!which!is!a! meme !this!helpful!article!in!the!Telegraph!explains!the!concept!and!gives!several!examples:!!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6262709/HitlerDownfall parodies 25 worth watching.html !(Enc!2)!!I!hope!that!you!will!understand!after!reading!this!that!the!video!was!not!aimed!at!portraying!Mr!Watson!as!Hitler.!In!fact!it!wasnt!aimed!at!any!individual!in!particular.!One!commentator!on!my!Blog!suggested!if!the!cap!fits,!wear!it:.!!

So!now!we!come!to!your!demands:!!(a)!It!is!unreasonable!to!suggest!that!a!member!of!the!public!and!journalist!does!not!contact!the!offices!of!a!publically!funded!authority.!I!have!a!legal!right!to!serve!freedom!of!information!act!requests!and!make!other!enquiries.!The!problems!come!from!the!attitude!of!staff!and!your!completely!unreasonable!action!in!refusing!to!correspond!with!me.!!

!Again!you!forget!that!you!are!a!publically!funded!organization.!Why!should!a!public!authority!refuse!to!answer!legitimate!questions!from!someone!because!they!dont!like!them?!Is!it!then!reasonable!to!accuse!them!of!harassment!when!they!persist!in!asking?!Had!the!question!been!answered!I!would!have!put!the!phone!down!and!gone!about!my!business.!!I!will,!however,!not!speak!to!Mr!Watsons!PA!other!than!to!leave!brief!messages!out!of!concern!for!her!personally.!As!I!mention!above!I!feel!your!actions!are!putting!her!in!a!difficult!position.!!I!expect!any!questions!asked!by!me!to!the!Seckford!Foundation!to!be!answered!in!a!timely!and!respectful!way.!I!am!happy!to!put!these!in!writing!and!to!copy!them!to!you!if!you!would!supply!me!with!your!email!address.!!(b)!I!will!not!remove!the! Hitler !posts!as!these!do! not !in!any!way!compare!Mr!Watson!to!Hitler!as!I!have!explained!above.!Just!go!to!Google!and!type!Hitler!Downfall!Video!and!you!will!see!hundreds!and!hundreds!of!these.!They!are!what!is!known!as!a! meme !that!has!become!popular!through!social!media!on!the!Internet.!The!idea!is!not!to!compare!anyone!to!Hitler!!and!interestingly!some!people!thought!this!was!aimed!at!Gove!not!Watson!!but!as!a!parody.!!

!


6/21

(c)!I!have!not!posted!any!defamatory!comments!about!the!Foundation!or!its!staff.!If!you!believe!a!post!is!defamatory!please!contact!me!and!explain!exactly!what!words!you!consider!as!defamatory!and!why!and!I!will!take!appropriate!action.!!Please!do!bear!in!mind!though!that!the!Seckford!Foundation!Free!Schools!Trust!is!not!able!to!make!claims!for!defamation.!!!If!the!Foundation!were!to!agree!to!answer!questions!and!correspondence!from!me!prior!to!the!publication!of!posts!then!I!would!gladly!include!your!side!in!any!of!my!posts!and!give!you!the!opportunity!to!clear!up!any!concerns!before!publication.!This!is!how!every!single!other!organization!I!deal!with!behaves.!!!This!is!probably!why!despite!some!robust!reporting!on!other!issues!nobody!else!has!sought!to!send!me!a!letter!like!this.!I!am!a!fair!and!reasonable!person!and!if!you!have!any!issues!with!me!you!do!not!need!to!send!a!legally!worded!pompous!letter.!Pick!up!the!phone,!drop!me!an!email,!text!me,!send!me!a!tweet.!!I!have!two!small!requests!in!return!Mr!Finbow.!I!answered!your!letter!despite!the!fact!you!routinely!ignore!all!my!correspondence!and!they!say!one!good!turn!deserves!another.!!Firstly!I!would!like!you!to!tell!me!in!what!way!Seckford!has!kept!its!promise!that!you!made!in!an!email!to!me!that:!!

We$have$consistently$made$clear$that$if,$contrary$to$our$understanding,$the$desire$is$not$there,$then$we$will$have$no$wish$to$impose$a$free$school$on$the$community.$ !

!With!only!37!children!confirmed!as!attending!please!can!you!explain!how!that!shows!desire!for!a!school?!In!what!way!is!your!current!behavior!not!imposing!a!free!school!against!the!wishes!of!the!Beccles!community?!!Secondly!I!am!not!sure!if!you!saw!my!open!letter! An$Appeal$to$the$Seckford$Foundation !posted!at:!!http://blog.hargrave.org.uk/2012/06/appeal to seckford foundation.html !(Enc!3)!!This!appeal!for!you!to!abandon!the!failed!Beccles!project!and!consolidate!both!schools!at!Saxmundham!has!widespread!political!support!across!Suffolk.!The!idea!is!not!mine!but!came!from!Mark!Bee!and!Peter!Aldous!MP.!!I!have!an!email!from!Mark!Bee,!Leader!of!Suffolk!County!Council!endorsing!this!(Enc!4)!and!in!addition!the!Chairman!of!Waveneys!Scrutiny!Committee!Tweeted!saying!his!Committee!was!behind!this!idea!(Enc!5).!Peter!Aldous!MP!has!also!issued!a!public!statement!(Enc!6)!supporting!this!idea.!!There!is!a!very!real!chance!if!you!do!not!do!this!that!one!or!even!both!your!new!

schools!will!fail!damaging!the!education!of!children!and!the!careers!of!staff.!Even!


7/21

the!combined!numbers!of!Beccles!and!Saxmundham!are!low.!!What!I!am!asking!is!that!you!call!a!full!Governing!Body!meeting!and!give!this!idea!serious!consideration!and!publish!the!reasons!for!your!decision.!!Yours!sincerely!!James!Hargrave!!Enc!6!Attachments!as!referred!to!in!the!text!


8/21

7/6/12 Politicians should have thick skins, judge rules in 'bitchy' councillor case www.telegraph.co.uk

1/3www.readability.com/articles/wxfeg7uq


9/21


10/21

7/6/12 Politicians should have thick skins, judge rules in 'bitchy' councillor case www.telegraph.co.uk

3/3www.readability.com/articles/wxfeg7uq


11/21

/6/12 Hitler Downfall parodies: 25 worth watching www.telegraph.co.uk Readability

1/4www.readability.com/articles/cxyjacef


12/21




13/21




14/21




15/21

/6/12 An appeal to the Seckford Foundation blog.hargrave.org.uk Readability

1/4www.readability.com/articles/kbt9rapy


16/21




17/21




18/21




19/21

James, I am happy to endorse what you have said below. Best wishes. Mark Mark Bee

Leader of Suffolk County Council Endeavour House8 Russell Road IpswichSuffolk IP1 2BX [email protected] (01473) 264012

From: James Hargrave [mailto:[email protected]]Sent: 29 June 2012 10:05To: Graham Watson; Seckford Free SchoolsCc: Jeremy Rowe; Ian Goodyer; Mark Bee; Peter AldousSubject: An Appeal to the Seckford Foundation

Dear Mr Watson,

(posted at http://blog.hargrave.org.uk/2012/06/appeal-to-seckford-foundation.html )

A number of us have campaigned strongly to oppose your attempts to open a school in Beccles that it is clear the local community doesnt want. Even the Seckford Foundation accept that this campaignhas been successful.

Put simply we won the argument and parents have voted with their feet with only 37 choosing your school.

And remember it was Mark Bee, local Tory Councillor for Beccles and the Leader of Suffolk County Council that first suggested parents vote with their feet not me or Jeremy Rowe.

Mark Bee and Peter Aldous are local politicians that understand their communities. The Government were foolish to ignore them and to be honest so were you.

As you saw at the Waveney Scrutiny Committee every single local elected representative in Beccles opposed the school. The MP Peter Aldous, the County Councillor Mark Bee, the District Councillorsand all 17 of the Town Councillors.

Indeed in Waveney all four of the political parties - Conservative, Labour, UKIP and Green are opposed at least in the main. An amazing coalition.

Today there is an opportunity to end this whole sorry affair by listening to Mark Bee and Peter Aldous.

They have presen ted a solution that could allow everyone to move forward and begin to work for the people that really matter in all of this. Suffolk children.

Consolidating your schools at Saxmundham is a pragmatic solution. There is real parental demand there and I really feel that your engagement in Beccles has detracted from the Saxmundham School.

You could put all your energies into making it a really great school rather than being heckled i n the street when talking to TV journalists and feeling you need to speed away out the back entrance of aTown Hall.

I am sure that if you were to adopt a more collaborative and less aggressive approach that local schools in Suffolk would work with you. You could find out about the North Suffolk Skills Centre,perhaps support and fund it rather than being involved in its demise. It could provide a very useful solution to the issue of the curriculum at your school complementing your academic subjects with avocational choice.

I dont doubt there are things we could all learn from Woodbridge and from you but it has become increasingly apparent when you say things like you are introducing competition into a system thathasnt had it before that you dont really have much knowledge about state education.

We have had competition for years, sometime fierce. Money follows the child and many parents - like me for example - take our choices seriously. We went to appeal to get our child into the school wewanted for him.

By working together we can all learn from each other and put our energies into making all of Suffolks schools as brilliant as they can be.

So you have a choice to make and speaking personally I would certainly work with you and any enlarged school in Saxmundham.

Please listen - not to me - but to Mark Bee and Peter Aldous!

James Hargrave

Emails sent to and from this organisation will be monitored in accordancewith the law to ensure compliance with policies and to minimise anysecurity risks.The information contained in this email or any of its attachments maybe privileged or confidential and is intended for the exclusive use ofthe addressee. Any unauthorised use may be unlawful. If you receivethis email by mistake, please advise the sender immediately by usingthe reply facility in your email software.

From: Mark Bee Subject: RE: An Appeal to the Seckford Foundation

Date: 29 June 2012 13:28:53 GMT+01:00To: 'James Hargrave'
mailto:[email protected]://blog.hargrave.org.uk/2012/06/appeal-to-seckford-foundation.htmlmailto:[email protected]


20/21


21/21

/6/12 Aldous comments on Beccles Free School www.peteraldous.com Readability

Documents

Reply to Seckford by James Hargrave