Joe Boyd - Fracking law for sale
- thegreenwash
- Aug 7, 2019
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 15, 2020
The Green Wash authors continue to take a look at the blog of long-time anti-fracking campaigner Joe Boyd.
Part 2 - Amanda Webster, consultant to beleaguered contractors
Carrying on to further discuss "Flaregate" Joe notes, at the time of the incident "protestors at the Barton Moss Anti-Fracking camp who had historical experience of protests, theorised, that the false flare accusation from Roberts could also be the work of Amanda Webster".
Amanda Webster
Amanda Webster, a Lancashire solicitor and top litigation expert, is married to Nick Webster, Head of IT Strategy & Architecture, MAS, BAE Systems. Prior to working for BAE Systems Nick Webster held a position with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a principal consultant.
After passing her professional exams at Chester Law College and qualifying with a Bolton firm of solicitors Webster was appointed to the 24-hour solicitors' duty roster at the local police station. It was whilst carrying out these duties Webster began to specialise in contentious civil cases such as contract disputes and allegations of medical negligence.
In 1992 Webster joined Preston city centre solicitors Brabners Chaffe Street at their offices where she became a partner, the head of litigation and also Deputy Under Sheriff of Lancashire, a position which has the practical enforcement of High Court judgments at its core. Acting on behalf of commercial clients purporting to have difficulties with "itinerant travellers" her ability to speedily resolve the majority of her cases impressed the Treasury Solicitors, London, who requested her to act against environmental protesters occupying trees at Cuerden near Leyland, on the outskirts of Blackburn and in parts of the Stanworth Valley; the occupation of which had resulted in the M65 link from central to east Lancashire being surrounded by the activists.
Webster went onto deal with some extremely high profile cases including, whilst working for the Highways Agency, to evict environmental protesters from an intended Devonshire development; the A30 Honiton Bypass. In a blaze of publicity a by now famous activist, at the time known only by the name of Swampy, and his fellow protesters were eventually evicted by Webster whose role in the process was to deal with all the legal work.
In a 2004 interview with the Lancashire Evening Post Webster described how she rose to become a notable expert with a national reputation for dealing with environmental protesters.
Webster also disclosed that during legal processes it was discovered that some of the M65 protesters were using addresses such as "Treehouse Number One" from which to claim their benefits. "Neither did it help that, while one government department was trying to evict them, another one, in the shape of the DSS, was actually delivering dole cheques to addresses like Treehouse Number One: "We had to iron out that little wrinkle," laughs Amanda".
Further on in the interview Webster stated "People ask me 'don't you appreciate the countryside and people's right to protest?' Of course I do. I know some of the protesters quite well and I hope there is mutual respect but my job is to do whatever I'm asked to do. I am not there to judge but to get a result."
It seems this targeting of campaigners and activists in receipt of benefits as a means to try and prevent claimants participating in peaceful protest continued unabated with concern being expressed in 2019 by disability campaign groups who stated that the "news sends a clear message that disabled people should think carefully before they take to the streets and exercise their legitimate right to protest”.
Continuing in the same article Disability News Service confirmed Greater Manchester Police had informed them they "had passed DWP information about protesters taking part in anti-fracking protests at Barton Moss, Salford, which took place in 2013 and 2014, and also confirmed that it had shared information with DWP from protests not connected with fracking".
In 2018 the Independent reported that Lancashire Constabulary had been passing details and video footage of disabled anti-fracking protesters to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Commenting on the allegation a representative for the force "said it had “a duty” to hand over details of protesters to the DWP if they had any information that “clearly suggests fraud may be being committed”. "The force said none of those whose details had been passed on had been charged with any crimes, but at least two activists have been summoned by DWP officials for interviews in which they were questioned about their disability benefits claims."
The authors of The Green Wash are aware of at least one anti-fracking protester who has now been convicted of benefit fraud. In 2019 Catherine Jackson (also known as Boyle), 51, had been claiming one of the highest levels of disability benefits when she was photographed in a lock-on tube outside the Cuadrilla Preston New Road hydraulic fracking site. Jackson was found guilty of obstruction of the highway and received a fine for her part in the protest. During the trial for fraud it was revealed by the Crown Prosecution Service that in her claim for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) Jackson had stated "...she could barely stand up and slept most of the day because of the pain she was in and the medication she had to take...". She also "...said she had arthritis and claimed the extreme pain in her shoulder meant she couldn't hold anything so couldn’t cook for herself." Further adding that in addition to the physical disabilities she "...suffered from anxiety and depression and couldn’t leave her home without suffering a panic attack...".
Initially pleading not guilty to dishonestly claiming £5,392 of Personal Independence Payments between June 2017 and May 2018 Jackson subsequently, following overwhelming evidence, changed her plea to guilty. Jackson received a 23 week jail term, suspended for two years, and a 12 week curfew stipulating she must remain at home between the hours of 7pm through to 7am.
Two issues concern the authors. The first issue is with those protesters committing benefit fraud who have made life exceedingly difficult for those with genuine disabilities to participate in peaceful demonstrations. The second issue that intrigues us is just how the police know which protesters are claiming disability benefits? Are the police sending long lists of names to the DWP for them to trawl through or is information being passed to them from other protesters?
Do or Die, an occasional journal containing worldwide reports and analysis from front line environmental activists was published in the UK between 1992-2003. In Issue 7, page(s) 1-4 an article entitled "Direct Action Six Years Down the Road" was published. Covering 6 years of road protests the author discusses the financial impact to companies and contractors. He notes that as "tactics have evolved, and our mobilisation abilities grown, our power to inflict economic damage has increased. This damage doesn't just mean trashing machines etc, but also includes extra security costs, and delays to work - time is money, remember? Although costs we inflict are dwarfed by those caused by an industrial labour dispute, for instance, this is something we're quite good at. Unfortunately, our enemies are increasingly good at countering it."
In a list of anti protest specialists the author names Andrew Wilson, the Under Sheriff of Lancashire and his "sidekick" Amanda Webster as "a consultant to beleaguered contractors, with a 24-hour phoneline for those really urgent protest problems" and Brays Detectives "who have grown from a small firm tailing unfaithful husbands to become the British specialists in protester surveillance". Further elaborating that the "security sector has of course received a big boost from our struggles, not to mention fencing contractors, manufacturers of fluorescent jackets, and so on. We have created opportunities for a whole new sector of capitalism.
This is market forces in full effect; just as specialist drainage contractors might be hired to deal with problematical ground conditions, so the anti-anti-roads gang can be hired to thwart those pesky protesters."
Brays Detective Agency went into liquidation in 2012, however, The Sting, a Bristol based on-line news outlet, reported in Edition 12, published in 2017, that a number of private investigator firms offering services in Bristol are investigating the behaviour of employees on long-term ‘sick’. In one section of the article, "fracking: the oil and gas company sting", the author, following several phone calls to three agencies from a caller alleging to represent a fictitious oil and gas company, writes "Two out of three PI firms contacted agreed to spy on environmental activists and provide the company with personal information obtained via covert surveillance.
Staff speaking on behalf of both Abbey Group PI and P D Consultants UK offered the use of GPS vehicle trackers on the cars of activists, which would provide live information on the whereabouts of any protester the client wants to track. The PI firms also agreed to go undercover at public anti-fracking meetings and provide audio and filmed recordings.
An investigator who went by the name of Danny from P D Consultants UK said they could spy on an anti-fracking public meeting in Bristol."
Further clarifying that the information gathered would "include the photographs you've asked for" along with a recording of the entire meeting "so you know exactly what's being said and who said it".
Danny explained that a GPS tracker attached to an activist's vehicle would give “real-time information on where he is”. He then went onto say “The tracker scenario is the best solution for you with this pain in the backside activist that you’ve got who is causing problems with your business,” “We do about 200 trackers a week…We’ve got probably 30 jobs on, on any one day.”
A quick search of the internet reveals a number of these detective agencies up and down the country, including one in Preston whose services include both undercover and surveillance operatives.
Interestingly, in a twist near the end of article "Direct Action Six Years Down the Road", the author notes that during the Newbury Bypass contracting process Tarmac's public declaration that "the Newbury Bypass was too environmentally damaging for them (with no chance of securing the contract anyway) was a PR coup". They then go on to reveal that Tarmac were assisted in this positive publicity stunt by "FoE's [Friends of the Earth] foolish public praise for this cynical greenwash, exposed a few months later by Tarmac accepting a Newbury aggregates subcontract! Tarmac, complete with new green logo, have also established an "Environment Advisory Panel" to fight the PR war for them."
It appears the green washing of environmental protests has been part and parcel of those driving the green agenda for a considerable period of time.
With market forces dictating that corporations either adapt to dealing with protesters or face the very real risk of losing contracts and business to more "sophisticated competitors" what has now unfolded is a very lucrative business in attempting to put an end to lawful, peaceful protest. With Webster stating "The advent of the protest movement will actually provide market advantages to those contractors who can handle it effectively."
In one of his final paragraphs the author, rather chillingly, but very perceptively, predicts that demonisation by the mainstream media of certain protest groups will be turned onto environmental protesters but this time "backed up by legal sanctions".
In 2007, after 14 years with Brabners Chaffe Street, Webster moved round the corner to join the legal law firm DWF as their Environmental Law Expert.
In 2009 Webster was appointed part-time partner at Harrison Drury overseeing litigation services and to manage major litigation projects. She continued in her varying other roles including as Deputy Sheriff of Lancashire and independent member of Lancashire Police Authority. For a number of years Webster has also been an associate of the College of Policing lecturing on police leadership and public order, as well as supporting the Early Intervention Foundation with the design and delivery of the Early Intervention Academy for Police Leaders.
In 2018 The Guardian reported on the case of a 14 year old, allegedly 'groomed' by anti-fracking activists, who had been referred to the anti-extremism scheme Channel, part of the government's anti-extremist Prevent programme as a result of his involvement with their campaigns. It later transpired in a statement by the Greater Manchester Police the boy had never been involved in anti-fracking but had in effect been targeted by an entirely different group of activists.
Rishi Shori, the chair of the commission, said: “The report contains a number of case studies where some details have been changed to protect the identities of those involved. This is standard practice where sensitive information is being used in a report."
“However, in one of these case studies – case study J – a factual detail has been altered which should not have been. The case study mistakenly said that concerns were raised around fracking. They were actually raised around a form of environmental extremism – but it had nothing to do with fracking."
“Although this change was made with the good intention of protecting the individual’s identity, ultimately it was the wrong thing to do. We apologise for this error. Because of a genuine fear that this vulnerable child could be identified, we cannot give more specific details about the type of extremism.”
Unfortunately the apology never generated anywhere near as much publicity as the original allegation did.
The very busy Ms Webster has "over 30 years’ experience of policing, as a criminal defence solicitor and prosecutor; working with police forces in public order operations; as an independent member and vice-chair of Lancashire Police Authority, chair of its protective services and member of its professional standards committees and assistant police and crime commissioner for Lancashire, where she led on early intervention, strategic partnership working and criminal justice, chairing the local criminal justice board."
The reach of Webster's web of influence clearly shows that allegations of her initiating 'flaregate' are most definitely within the realms of probability.
Coming soon, part 3a - The tangled web of intrigue and deceit spreads
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