Sarah Everard: Man convicted without knowing for attending vigil

A man accused of breaking Covid-19 restrictions by attending a vigil for Sarah Everard says he heard of his conviction "from a news report".

    Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped        and murdered by Metropolitan Police                   officer Wayne Couzens 

                   26th July, 2022. 

Kevin Godin-Prior, 68-year-old pensioner, from Manchester, told a court postal delays meant he was sent a notice of prosecution two days after the deadline to respond.

   FORMER: Prime Minister Boris Johnson                    Never Trust A Tory! 

He was convicted in his absence under the Single Justice Procedure on 1 June.

The conviction has now been dropped after an appeal against it and Mr Godin-Prior pleaded not guilty.

He is one of six people prosecuted by the Met Police following the event on 13 March last year.

◾Everard vigil attendee calls prosecution an insult

◾Met charges six Sarah Everard vigil attendees

A total of nine fixed penalty notices were issued following the vigil - two were paid and another dropped.

Hundreds attended an unofficial vigil for Ms Everard on Clapham Common in March 2021 after she was kidnapped, raped and murdered by then Met officer Wayne Couzens.

Mr Godin-Prior was accused of participating in a gathering of more than two people in a public outdoor place in a Tier 4 area in March 2021.

He, Dania Al-Obeid, 27, and Ben Wheeler, 21, both from London, were ordered to pay a £220 fine, £100 in court costs and a £34 victim surcharge at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

But Mr Godin-Prior appeared at the same court on Tuesday to make a statutory declaration - a way of appealing against a magistrates' conviction if it occurred without the defendant's knowledge.

     The Metropolitan Police was heavily          criticised for their policing of the vigil.                 IMAGE SOURCE, PA WIRE 

Appearing via video link, Mr Godin-Prior told the court that due to postal issues he received a notice of prosecution two days after the deadline to respond.

He added that a request to move the proceedings to a local court in Manchester due to his ill health, where he intended to plead not guilty, was not responded to by authorities.

"I am requesting it to be reopened because I had no opportunity to respond to my case," Mr Godin-Prior said.

Ben Stuttard, defending, said Mr Godin-Prior was "prosecuted without knowing it" and "convicted in absence".

Magistrate Dr Lynn Gailey tossed out the conviction, reopened the case and gave Mr Godin-Prior the opportunity to plea, to which he responded "not guilty".

Prosecutor Jen Gatland asked the court to list Mr Godin-Prior for trial on 14 to 16 November alongside Ms Al Obeid, while a case management hearing ahead of the trial was scheduled for 23 September at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

With many thanks to: BBC News London for the original story. 

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DUP are being very economical with the truth about NI Protocol impact on cost-of-living inaccurate, Fact-Check group says.

The group accused the DUP of a "brazen" example of "cherry picking facts to suit a narrative"

The DUP's claims that the Northern Ireland Protocol is increasing the cost of living in the region are inaccurate, a fact-checking organisation has said.

22nd June, 2022. 

A claim by DUP MP Ian Paisley that the Brexit deal on Irish Sea trade is "adding 27% additional costs to everything in Northern Ireland" is not supported by evidence, FactCheck NI concluded.

It also said DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's claim during a televised election debate that consumers in Northern Ireland pay "4% more per item" than in Great Britain was incorrect.

The fact-checking group accused the DUP of a "brazen" example of "cherry picking facts to suit a narrative".

With the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine driving up inflation rates globally, it said it is difficult to determine the impact of the Protocol on the cost of living.

The DUP has been blocking the restoration of Stormont power-sharing until its concerns are addressed over the Protocol, arguing that it is "damaging Northern Ireland".

Mr Paisley made his claims about the Protocol on the BBC's Nolan Show last month.

The North Antrim MP said: "The Protocol is adding 27% additional costs to everything in Northern Ireland, because of the additional costs associated with the Protocol.

"The cost of transporting things over and the added cost the Protocol adds to transport. If you think costs of living are high in GB mainland, for people in Northern Ireland, add an additional 27%."

It followed a similar claim in April by Orange Order grand secretary Rev Mervyn Gibson, who told BBC Talkback he understood "goods coming in here are raised 27% because of a direct result of the Protocol coming from GB".

FactCheck NI said the claim "doesn't make sense" as the Protocol only applies to goods, not services, and not everything sold in Northern Ireland is transported through Great Britain.

It said there is currently no evidence that the price of everything has increased by 27% or more due to the Protocol.

The DUP told the fact-check group that Mr Paisley was referring specifically "to the cost of moving goods from GB to NI" and the 27% figure was based on research by the Road Haulage Association.

However, FactCheck NI said this is "not fully representative of the whole logistics industry".

Logistics UK told the organisation that no full survey has been carried out with the industry about Protocol-related costs.

FactCheck NI said it was a "complicated picture" with higher haulage costs also driven by increased fuel, ferry and labour costs.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson made his claims about the Protocol during the BBC NI leaders' debate ahead of May's Assembly election.

The Lagan Valley MP said: "As a direct result of the increased cost in bringing food products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland due to the Protocol, consumers in Northern Ireland are now paying on average 4% more per item than they are in Great Britain at the moment.”

Sir Jeffrey also said the consumers in Northern Ireland were paying 8% more for dairy products and 19% more for chilled convenience goods than people in Great Britain.

He cited a report from analysts Kantar commissioned by Stormont's Department for the Economy.

FactCheck NI said that while some of Sir Jeffrey's stats are supported, the Kantar analysis found that grocery prices in Great Britain are on average 8% higher than they are in Northern Ireland.

It added: "What the DUP has done is select a few of the food categories involved in the Kantar research, glued a few together and said that, if you only factor those ones in (ignoring some others), then it looks like prices are higher here – despite the fact the report they are quoting says the opposite.

"Cherry picking facts to suit a narrative is one of the mainstays of the modern age of mis- and dis-information. Rarely, however, is it quite this brazen."

Concluding its report, FactCheck NI said: "It is difficult to examine the full effect of the Protocol on consumer prices in Northern Ireland for a number of reasons.

"If the Protocol is driving up costs, this would represent an inflationary pressure but detailed, specific, comprehensive inflationary figures for Northern Ireland are not collected.

"Inflation is also running rampant around the world. This is due in large part to massive disruptions; not least the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

"They represent two world-altering events and the timing of both makes counterfactual information to measure the effects of the Protocol on NI difficult to pin down readily." 

With many thanks to: Belfast Live and Brendan Hughes Politicial reporter for the original publication. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: The impact of the Protocol upon the cost-of-living in Northern Ireland. A 🧵.

NIESR have poured cold water on claims made by the Conservative and Unionist Party that the NI Protocol is damaging trade with the UK.

NI Protocol: Food industry warns Protocol 'vital to trade'

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https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dup-claims-ni-protocol-impact-24290506

The impact of the Protocol upon the cost-of-living in Northern Ireland. A 🧵.

NEW: The impact of the Protocol upon the cost-of-living in Northern Ireland. A 🧵.

We have had a *lot* of requests for this, and there is so much to unpack. Stop, grab your morning coffee, and take a read through our analysis.

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First, what's the overall impact?

DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr claimed the Protocol is "adding 27% additional costs to everything in Northern Ireland". 

This isn't accurate. Standalone inflation figures for NI would help determine a figure, but they don't exist.

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Follow this link 2/6

What about groceries?

During the BBC Debate, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP said consumers here pay "4% more per item" than in GB.

This isn't correct. Analysis from Kantar, cited by Sir Jeffrey, shows that the average total grocery price was in fact 8% *higher* than in NI.

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Well, what about transport?

A DUP spokesperson said the haulage sector has seen a 27% increase in costs since the Protocol was introduced.

This is based on research from the Road Haulage Association. It is not fully representative of the whole logistics industry.

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So, has the Protocol impacted the cost-of-living crisis?

👉Lack of data makes this difficult to assess.

👉Inflation is rampant across the world. It is difficult to pin down the Protocol's impact.

👉That being said, some claims made on the Protocol are just not right.

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Read our full analysis:

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With many thanks to: FactCheckNI for the original publication on Twitter.

Follow these links to find out more on information on this story and concerning the DUP Facts on the cherry-picking of the NI protocol: DUP are being very economical with the truth about NI Protocol impact on cost-of-living inaccurate, Fact-Check group says.

NIESR have poured cold water on claims made by the Conservative and Unionist Party that the NI Protocol is damaging trade with the UK.

NI Protocol: Food industry warns Protocol 'vital to trade'

UK poised to introduce Bill dismantling the NI Protocol