Oakham Town Council Election Mr Kennedy has made a statement on Facebook supporting his opponent

Mr Kennedy has made a statement on Facebook supporting his opponent

I am pleased he only knows Jim as a nice friendly taxi driver and dog walker.
I would not want anyone else to know the other Jim Harrison.

I sense Mr Kennedy is suggesting Jim Harrison is being slandered. Well I can assure
readers he is not.

I have a file of emails sent by Jim to Councillors and Council staff, some I have
previously published.

The one that sticks out the most is the one in which he states he hatred for me
"I hate the bastard with utter vengeance" some are just pure childish bullying
He distributed photographs of me "for a laugh"

Then there was his involvement with Wendy Miller, Philip Quinton and Maureen
Dodds another former Mayor and Councillor at the time, Philip Quinton ended up being convicted.
Wendy Miller's messages between her and Philip Quinton clearly stated Jim's amusement and approval of Philip Quinton's homophobic conduct and threats of violence.


Also is a matter of court record that Mr Harrison and Paul Beech were named
by a former Melton Mowbray Council employee as Former Oakham Town
Councillor Charles Haworth's partner in crime.


It is also a fact Mr Harrison posted an online threat directed to me and was visited by
Leicestershire Police.

Jim Harrison. For your information I have never been invited to eat anything at St Georges Barracks nor have I ever been there as a guest. 

Get your information correct before making comments about me. Put that on your blog you lying scumbag. 

I am sick and tired of your slurs and comments about me and now it is time for action and the sooner the better. 


Now run off to the police station and report me for this.

Jim Harrison You don't even know me nor what I am like.It has taken a lot of lies from you to get me mad, I have had enough, be warned, I have stayed quiet for long enough, you know absolutely nothing about me or my character nor ever will. Now run off to the police station and tell them that as well


As for Mr Kennedy his own twitter account does not lie. (Racist) He has set the account to
private. Why?

On Facebook voters ask for information from the two candidates,
none have provided the information the voters require for tomorrow's
election.

How does Mr Kennedy think making one statement supporting his opponent
help the voters make a decision?


Defamation of People Standing for Election: Mr Kennedy publishes an act
Although I personally have not defamed either candidate, I have not seen
any evidence of anyone else doing this.
In the past people connected to Oakham Town Council have breached
election laws and Leicestershire Police have failed to act in any case.

Although if Mr Kennedy has made complaints to Leicestershire Police
I am sure he is likely to receive preferential treatment due to his close
connections to them due to his Neighbourhood Watch Work.


Wise words from Paul Beech it's a great shame he does not consider all deserve the same respect

 Well said John. And please, everybody, respect the electoral process without trying to ridicule .any candidate.  


The voters in the North West Ward have a difficult choice to make in the morning

John Kennedy the Racist a big one according to another town councillor
or Jim Harrison the Homophobic Bully.

It of course highly likely we will end up with both because I am sure the loser
of tomorrow's election is likely to be co-opted if no election has been called
for the vacancy created by the resignation of Mrs Hearn.
The deadline to call an election passed at 4pm today.

Oakham Town Council has a track record of co-opting election losers if they
like them.

John Kennedy

13 November at 23:36

Oakham Town Council Election - North West Ward.
Jim Harrison and I, John kennedy are candidates for the upcoming election, please disregard the comments made by others on here. We are both offering our time to help the local community, which we would do without payment and in our own private time, after doing a full days work. I only know Jim as a very pleasant taxi driver, but do know his lovely partner, having met her through our mutual love of dogs. Please, please, please judge us on what you feel we can offer the community, not by virtue of some quite slanderous remarks from certain parties. If you have positive comments to make about either of us, please do, but legally negative comments cannot be made against either of us and I am sure action will be taken against any groups or individuals who do so.

Paul Beech Well said John. And please, everybody, respect the electoral process without trying to ridicule .any candidate.

Like · Reply · 14 November at 08:28

John Kennedy Defamation of People Standing for Election

What is the law on false statements and defamation about election candidates?

Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, there are criminal penalties in place for those convicted of making or publishing false statements about election candidates. This is to protect the democratic process and is in addition to the general, civil law on libel (which must obviously also be observed when reporting elections).

When does the Representation of the People Act 1983 apply?

The Act's criminal offences only apply from the time that formal notice is given that an election is to take place until the point at which the election ends. This is around five weeks for local government elections. Formal notice for national Parliamentary elections is taken to be the date of the dissolution of Parliament or any earlier announced indication of Her Majesty' intention to dissolve Parliament.

What are the offences under the Representation of the People Act?

Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 specifies that it is a criminal offence to make or publish a false statement of fact about the personal character or conduct of an election candidate. The purpose of making or publishing this false statement must be seen to be to affect how many votes the candidate will get.

Section 106 thus specifies that, in this offence, it must be a distinct statement of fact as opposed to an expression of opinion or comment about a candidate.

If a defendant can show that he/she has reasonable grounds for believing that the statement was true at the time of publication, then they will not be successfully prosecuted for this offence – even if the statement does turn out to be untrue. This differs from other defamation and libel actions whereby the defendant must prove that the statement is in fact true.

Section 106 also details a further offence: that of publishing a false claim that an election candidate has withdrawn from the election. The Act states that it will be an offence if the person responsible for this published statement knows that such a claim is false and has a purpose of promoting another candidate then they will be punished under this offence.

What is the penalty for breach of section 106?

The penalty for a breach of section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 is a fine of up to £5,000. If a false statement is published by a company and not an individual, then the company directors may face conviction. In 1992 there was a conviction under the Act after an individual published a leaflet which claimed that Jack Straw 'hated Muslims'. In 2006 a conviction was made against a Labour candidate who falsely stated that a Liberal Democrat candidate was a paedophile.

What will the consequences be for making false statements about election candidates under civil law?

The publisher of a false statement about an election candidate may, of course, face a libel action in the civil courts if it is believed to be a defamatory statement. However, it is much easier to get an injunction against the repetition of false statements through this criminal law than through a libel action because the criminal sanction of the 1983 Act allows a quicker remedy.

Like · Reply · Yesterday at 16:33