Basic Facts about Clywch Legal Case

November 6th, 2008

I am one of nine former pupils of Rhydfelen school who brought a legal action for personal injuries arising out of school experiences.

What went wrong at Rhydfelen school is documented in the Clywch Report prepared by the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and published in 2004.

I was not a part of the drama life of Rhydfelen school as were all the other eight former pupils.

I was attacked by John Owen in 1984 after my parents complained about his interference in my education.

My parents were the first to complain to the school about John Owen, but their complaint was ignored by the school management and education authority.

A few years later John Owen would expel me from Rhydfelen, thus ending my school education and ensuring I was not in school to accuse him of wrongdoing.

In January 2008, Hywel James of James & Bulteel Solicitors prepared a Legal Aid Application on my behalf. He represented all nine former pupils in a joint legal action.

The Legal Aid Application was handled by the Legal Services Commission.

A Court Hearing in Cardiff was due to go ahead in mid August 2008.

In early August 2008 I had not received a reply from the Legal Services Commission, despite the fact they received the initial Application eight months previously.

I therefore asked the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, my Member of Parliament and Assembly Member to help me elicit a reply.

With no legal representation, on August 18th 2008 I attended Court in Cardiff to represent myself in the Clywch legal case.

After this Hearing the last of the 8 other Clywch Legal Cases were settled out of court.

The education authority responsible for what went wrong in Rhydfelen did not want to defend what happened to school children in Rhydfelen.

My case remains unsettled. Without legal aid funding there was no case preparation and thus settlement was not possible.

In late September the BBC and other media used a Press Release prepared by Hywel James.

The press release suggested the Clywch legal case was settled and the pay-out “draws a line under issues which arose from the Clywch Inquiry”.

As the last of the nine cases, my viewpoint was altogether different.

I wrote to the Legal Services Commission asking them approximately 25 detailed questions concerning the Legal Aid Application prepared by Hywel James.

The Legal Services Commission replied by not answering a single question.

At this point I decided I would not continue hitting my head against a wall of silence.

If our justice system does not want to allow me to tell my story in Court by funding legal representation, I will tell my story as best I can to my family, friends, and other people.

I tell you my story by telling you my name and thus giving up any anonymity. I will tell you where I come from, what I have done in my life, what work I have done, and what happened to me as a school child and how it affected my life.

Being able to tell one’s story is about empowering oneself.

This week I wrote to the Clerk at Cardiff Court dealing with my legal case.

I explained that without Legal Aid Funding to give me Legal Representation I do not think I will face a Fair Hearing at Court.

I confirmed, however, that I will stand before Court in Spring 2009 to represent myself as the last former pupil in the Clywch legal case.

I will not become a victim again.

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Reporting the Facts of the Clywch Case

October 10th, 2008

I would like to start somewhere and here and now is about as good a place to start as any.

Today I wrote another letter to Nick Machin, as Head of Content for Media Wales. This company publishes the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, many other local newspapers, as well as the Wales Online website.

I initially wrote to Mr Machin on September 23rd 2008 asking him to correct a story published that day on the Wales Online website and subsequently re-published in most of the company’s newspapers.

I spoke to him on the telephone, gave him the full background to the legal aid application debacle, and even offered to visit him with documents explaining the complex background to the case.

As I say in my letter, I do not understand the reluctance of Media Wales to publish the facts surrounding the Clywch legal case.

Here is a copy of the Letter :

Mr Machin,

Thank you for your email yesterday.

I refer you to my initial complaint of 23 September 2008 which explains my position concerning the misleading nature of your article.

Nine cases were scheduled to run to trial in late September 2008, but due to gross failures in the legal aid application, the last case has been re-scheduled for next year.

The ninth case did not emerge separately like a lone butterfly. It was prepared and presented by the same firm of solicitors, and the courts dealt with all cases as a group.

I do not understand your reluctance to report these facts.

You were misled by a misleading press release. I had no knowledge of that press release until I complained to you. Now you have a responsibility to set the record straight.

I am sure you appreciate that the nature of this case is difficult for myself, my family and friends. In late August 2008, I turned up at Cardiff Court to represent myself at a Court Hearing due to delays in
the legal aid process. Judge Graham Jones expressed his astonishment at the legal aid delay and the obvious travesty of justice this caused.

I believe that were it not for the help of Rt Hon Ann Clwyd MP in making enquiries of the Legal Services Commission, I might still be waiting to hear about legal aid today.

It is therefore important that you correct your story as soon as possible as this is not a trifling matter.

Should you require any further information from me, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please advise me if you intend to print a correction/addenda for this story.

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