About Samuel Collingwood Smith

Samuel Collingwood Smith was born in the north of England, but his family moved south early in his life and spent most of his early years in Hertfordshire before attending Queen Mary, University of London, where he studied Economics. Sam currently lives in the southeast of England. Smith was employed as a Labour Party fundraiser in the 2001 General Election, and as a Labour Party Organiser in the 2005 General Election. In 2005 Smith was elected as a Borough Councillor and served for 3 years until 2008. In 2009 Smith changed sides to the Conservative party citing division within Labour ranks, Labour broken promises and Conservative improvements to local services. In 2012 Smith started to study a Graduate Diploma in Law, passing in 2014. Smith then moved on to studying a Master's Degree in Law combined with an LPC, receiving an LL.M LPC (with Commendation) in January 2017. During his study, Smith assisted several individuals in high profile court cases as a McKenzie Friend - in one case being praised by Parliamentary petition for his charitable work and legal skills. Smith is also the author of this blog, Matthew Hopkins News, that deals with case law around Family and Mental Capacity issues. The blog also opposes online drama and abuse and criticises extreme-left politicians.

Is Paedophilia Internet Troll @CraftyMuvva really so Crafty?

Esther Baker owes me money. On 3rd November 2020 Master Lisa Sullivan in the High Court ordered her to pay me £1,226.80 (order uploaded for transparency) and also struck out parts of her defence to my claim for libel and harassment. Predictably, Baker has been sniping and grumbling about it, making nasty remarks on Twitter to the extent that she dares to. What surprises me is the very small remaining rump of trolls who have time for her. One particularly vile individual is @CraftyMuvva, who is likely to face heavy scrutiny herself in the near future. Their latest ploy is to write unpleasant public posts on Twitter and then claim anyone who reads them is stalking them (evidence archive) by monitoring their communications.

The corrected strike-out and costs Order against Esther Baker.

The corrected strike-out and costs Order against Esther Baker.

For new readers, it is worth reminding them who Baker is. At the height of the paedophilia hysteria engendered by Exaro and Carl Beech, Esther Baker alleged that she was raped by a number of men on Cannock Chase as a child. After a police investigation into her ever-changing story, followed by CPS consideration, no charges were brought. Baker sought a review. The CPS responded to D1’s request under the Victim’s Right of Review Scheme. In that document, dated 15 March 2018, the CPS prosecutor says as follows, having reviewed all of the evidence collected in the case relating to all of the alleged rapes that there are “no witnesses”, “no medical or forensic evidence” and “no one else has come forward with a similar complaint”.

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Smith v Baker, Baker Defence and Counterclaim Partially Struck Out

Judgement has been handed down by Master Sullivan in my strike-out application against Esther Baker in Smith v Baker and Dillon. I have a copy, and it has been released to BAILII so will presumably be going up there shortly.

EstherBaker

Esther Baker has had parts of her Defence and Counterclaim struck out.

In short the judge has struck out parts of Baker’s Defence and Counterclaim and will make an Order that she files an amended one within 28 days. The precise form of the Order will be finalised at a hearing to be set for 30 minutes next week. It is not an unless Order, but it is intended to contain liberty for me to renew my strike-out application if the pleadings remain deficient. The judge also said, “I am not making an unless order for the reasons set out, but if there is any substantial breach in the amended pleadings, the relevant part is likely to be struck out”.

I am disappointed with some typos, including apparently mixing up the Claimant and Defendant in a couple of places and some similar errors, as well as one error of fact. These could have been avoided had a draft of the judgement been sent out in the usual way, which I did suggest. There are procedures for correcting these, called, the “slip rule” and “reconsideration rule” and I will comment further once I have invited the Master to address them.

[EDIT – 20/10/2020 18:20] The judge has now corrected all the typos and factual issues I raised and sent an amended judgement to BAILII.

Otherwise, the effect is positive. Ms Baker must correct her pleadings once the Order is finalised, or face final strike-out.

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Hemming Brings it – Court Papers re Sonia Poulton Filed

This is just a brief note updating my previous articles about Sonia Poulton (1st here, 2nd here). At around 10:38am this morning proceedings were brought by John Hemming in his claim against Sonia Poulton. The fee has been paid and the filings accepted by the clerk. The court case is no longer a threat, no longer a possibility. It has been filed. Sonia Poulton has yet to be served or enter a defence, and it is now for a court to decide matters. However, she has been sent a receipt and copy of the final legal papers as a courtesy.

Sonia Poulton Video Statement

Sonia Poulton has issued an inflammatory and misleading ‘official statement’ on the dispute. Extracted still used for the purpose of criticism and review.

This will be a new development to Poulton, a figure who has faced legal threats for years but somehow avoided litigation. To me she seems to be a pathetic figure much like David Hencke, who humiliatingly settled Hemming’s libel claim against him in 2018. Once taken seriously by the national press, her career has followed a “this is spinal tap” model into self-publication. She has shaded into ever more dangerous territory and her recent podcast with Shaun Attwood has finally put her into deep waters.

Poulton now face the risk of further lawsuits. She has made public remarks about two supporters of Hemming, with the following words – “I’ve finally found out the reason why two creepy middle-age, childless men have been stalking me and survivors of child abuse for years. And I’m going to expose them,” (tweet) (archive). Her difficulty with this statement of course is that stalking is a crime. If the men can be identified, even by a small number of people, then they can sue her. In order to defend her statement, she might well have to prove that they are guilty of the offence for which they have not been convicted.

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Hemming v Poulton Update

Sonia Poulton has been active in the world of child abuse, ‘research’ and independent journalism for some time. What she calls journalism, others call conspiracy theories. However until now, legal threats made to her by a variety of individuals have never been carried out. MHN can exclusively reveal that having consulted a media barrister, John Hemming now does intend to proceed with his claim against Poulton, who will be hearing further from him next week. Meanwhile two other men who are aggrieved with Poulton are now contemplating legal action.

Sonia Poulton Video Statement

Sonia Poulton has issued an inflammatory and misleading ‘official statement’ on the dispute. Extracted still used for the purpose of criticism and review.

On 18 September 2020, Sonia Poulton published a video statement you can view here. In it, she monotonously reads to the camera the following words –

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Decent Shaun Attwood Corrects the Record, Vile Sonia Poulton Doubles Down

In response to John Hemming’s concerns, Shaun Attwood has done the decent thing and corrected a recent video about Hemming and Esther Baker. His statement is here. Meanwhile, vile Sonia Poulton seems to have split with him and has released a misleading statement to her followers.

Shaun Attwood does the decent thing

Shaun Attwood has released a video correcting the record about former MP John Hemming. His former collaborator Sonia Poulton has doubled down linking a misleading video.

In 2019 Shaun Attwood released a video on a number of topics and alleged child abusers. During one section, he interviewed freelance ‘journalist’ Sonia Poulton about the Esther Baker case. It was a train wreck. Attwood relied on Poulton’s expertise but from a journalistic perspective, her contribution was a disaster. Poulton told viewers that Esther Baker had made allegations of abuse against Hemming and that, “it is quite clear that Esther Baker, erm, feels that she has a case that needs to be examined, appropriately examined”. She neglected to mention however the simple fact that they had been investigated by Staffordshire Police and rejected. The CPS stated that there are, “no witnesses”, “no medical or forensic evidence” and “no one else has come forward with a similar complaint”.

In fact Baker’s allegations have now been found, “untrue” in the High Court and she has now been restrained for life from repeating them. Baker has also been found to have harassed a potential witness in the case, in racist fashion. The victim, who MHN has anonymised, is a real proven victim of child abuse.

None of this was told to viewers of the podcast, because Sonia did not bother to contact Hemming for a statement before giving the interview to Shaun. It was a basic journalistic error, shoddy and amateurish.

When all this was pointed out Shaun Attwood did the decent thing. He removed that section from the video, which he re-uploaded. He published a correction. That cannot have been nice but he did it. That is the kind of thing that separates the decent from the less decent.

Sonia Poulton has been far less pleasant. Continue reading

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Smith v Baker and Dillon, Dillon Settles, Amy Lee Helpful

This is a brief update. The Witchfinder has agreed a settlement with Jacqui Dillon, the second Defendant in his claim in damages for Libel and Harassment. The terms of the settlement are not confidential. The Claimant Samuel Collingwood Smith will “waive his right to damages, costs and to an injunction”. The 2nd Defendant Dillon in exchange has entered into a lifelong restraining agreement not to repeat the meanings complained of in the action. Her Twitter account is presently suspended but if it is ever reinstated she must also delete the tweets complained of.

Jacqui Dillon has settled the claim brought by the Witchfinder.

Dillon has not admitted liability nor that her tweets bore the meanings complained of. However she has agreed not to repeat the words of the tweets, or words bearing the same or similar meanings to the following –

  • That the Claimant is the operator of the @legalaidloser Twitter account;
  • That the Claimant is a paedophile and harasser of child sexual abuse victims;
  • That the Claimant’s allegation that the Second Defendant’s tweet referring to Esther Baker as a victim libelled John Hemming, as set out in the Claimant’s email of 10 October 2019, was a dishonest attempt to intimidate the Second Defendant;
  • That the Claimant is a habitual stalker, who is mentally ill and stalks as a result of that mental illness; and
  • That Amy Lynn Lee Hartzler, the lead singer of Evanescence, has told the Second Defendant that the Claimant stalked her.

Dillon was represented, to my mind wisely, by media lawyers Atkins-Thomson (both formerly of Schillings) and not Mohammed Akunjee who previously advised her whilst not being formally instructed. In the ratio of Zenith Logistics Services (UK) Ltd & Ors v Coury [2020] EWHC 774 (QB) it was held at 59 that, “[…] the Schedule forms part of the “order” within the meaning of CPR 5.4C, and is subject to the default rule that it is publicly accessible […]”. In the interests of transparency I have uploaded the entire consent Order here.

I am grateful to Amy Lynn Lee Hartzler, the lead singer of Evanescence, for the helpful and pragmatic approach taken by her lawyers in denying any contact with Dillon, a fact I included in my Amended Particulars of Claim. For my part I regret that she has been troubled on this matter and have no plans to vex her about it further if this can be avoided.

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NewProject2 – It was MHN not Leopirate

The closure of 9chan / Kiwi Farms / Joshua Moon funding site Newproject2 was not caused by Leopirate (although his channel is great and so is his recent video). It is not a free-speech issue. It was me. I had their account closed and it is going to stay closed whilst Josh is a member. Newproject2 is owned and run by low-rent internet shock-jock Dick Masterson. Dick Masterson appears to have ignored the complex regulatory requirements that apply to would-be financial institutions like Newproject2 LLC.

Master Card Closes New Project 2 2020-05-29

MasterCard required that NewProject2 be investigated by its acquiring bank due to its provision of services to Joshua Conner Moon and various regulatory breaches. The investigation led to termination of the account.

I have been quiet for a while on the dreg-o-sphere (my pet name for the embarrassing fringe of the fringe of the Right who actually associate with Joshua Conner Moon and Ethan Ralph). That is because I have been doing productive things. I passed my law exams and whilst I have not sought to practice law as solicitor I have been helping celebrities and politicians pro-bono in high profile lawsuits in the Queen’s Bench as a McKenzie Friend.

Aside from the Coronavirus lockdown I have been earning very much in the higher income tax bracket from the IT business I own. I have been writing articles on major issues. In this recent judgement (archive), a woman called Esther Baker made 200 pages of complaints about me to a High Court judge. The complaints were all rejected, as having, “no merit”. Baker had to pay the costs of making us read her complaints about my articles.

I was praised in a newspaper recently for defeating two of Britain’s biggest and most prestigious libel law firms in a case –

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Service with a Smile! – Esther Baker and Jacqui Dillon Libel and Harassment Case Issued

Esther Baker has been found to have defamed former MP John Hemming by Mrs Justice Steyn in the High Court. Her allegations were found to be “untrue”. She has been found to have engaged in a sustained campaign of racist harassment against a child abuse victim, by the County Court. In both cases lifelong restraining Orders were made. In both cases I offered some legal support to Ms Baker’s opponents. Now, I feel Esther Baker and her friend Dr Jacqui Dillon have behaved inappropriately towards me and I have commenced a claim for defamation and harassment. The Claim has now been reviewed by a High Court Master and issued. Service was effected today.

Image of the top of a letter from the court enclosing the issued claim forms

Image of the top of a letter from the court enclosing the issued claim forms.

As the Defendants are litigants in person it is important to give them as much time as possible to consider the matter. Therefore, I ensured that the Claim Form and other documents were hand delivered to Dr Jacqui Dillon’s home today so she could contemplate her defence over the Bank Holiday weekend. I also sent Esther Baker’s copy of the proceedings by registered post. Courtesy copies of the claim and response pack have been delivered by email also. To prove delivery and that there was no impropriety, the delivery to Dr Dillon was videoed.

Extract from the video of delivery to Dr Dillon's Home. House number blurred out.

Extract from the video of delivery to Dr Dillon’s Home. House number blurred out.

Readers are reminded that my claim is yet unproven and no court has made any decision. The Defendants have time to enter their defences. The fact that both Defendants are seriously mentally ill, the fact that I am the third person to sue Ms Baker and the fact that she has lost all her other cases to date does not mean they will lose this one – although it does not in any way bode well for them.

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9chan / Kiwi Farms Take Credit for Attempt to Break into Home of Jess Phillips MP

Last month Kiwi Farms owner Joshua Conner Moon set up an image board site called 9chan. Moon was previously dismissed from notorious image board 8chan (now 8kun.top) over a botched attempt to upgrade their software and inappropriate conduct in relation to the site’s child pornography forums. Within 2 days of setting up 9chan, Moon was boasting on Twitter (archive) of featuring in an article on Vice.com because of the site’s involvement in cyber attacks on the World Health Organisation. Now, 9chan has a board for stalking and demeaning female legislators all over the world with fake nudes and rape stories often involving their children. This week members have taken credit for an attempt to break into the home of Jess Phillips MP. The 9chan site also expressly allows certain types of illegal child exploitation material in its terms.

Members of sinister Kiwi Farms sister-site 9chan (also owned by Joshua Conner Moon) claim that they tried to break in to Jess Phillips’ house.

Like many British politicians, Jess Phillips MP doubtless receives a lot of indefensible hate mail. From her comments in a public interview in the Birmingham Mail (archive) however she is not familiar with the nightmarish Kiwi Farms group and the fact that it has been linked to horrific real world attacks on children and has members in the United Kingdom willing to participate in real world harassment. The threat is far worse than, “It’s just the usual dark web online nonsense” or, “just in-cell [sic] group in America or something”.

Kiwi Farms and 9chan are home to a world-wide cadre of individuals too extreme and despicable for mainstream neo-Nazi or hate sites. Joshua Moon himself was the only person ever banned from wannabe Nazi payment site Hatreon. The Hatreon site itself was later shut down by the card networks. The owner of Hatreon Cody Wilson was actually later convicted of causing “injury” to a minor he had allegedly paid for sex, after pleading guilty (archive). However, even he found Moon’s disturbing paedophile rug-rat snuff rape fantasies intolerable.

KiwiFarmsMassMurderForeshadowing

Kiwi Farms member Williams Atchison under his username, “Fuck You” asks his friend Joshua Conner Moon, “Null” how long before he conducts a mass shooting.

Kiwi Farms members have been involved in attacks on children in multiple countries. On 7 December 2017 William Atchison walked into his old school in Aztec, New Mexico and opened fire. He succeeded in killing two minors before taking his own life. Media reported he was a member of various extremist sites including Kiwi Farms but MHN exclusively discovered that Atchison had spoken personally to Joshua Moon about school shootings only three days before he committed his murder-suicide. The full story is set out in my article of the time, “Kiwi Farms Member Kills 2 in School Rampage Before Killing Himself – Police Knew of Risk Nearly 2 Years Ago”.

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Twitter and Bristows in Humiliating Libel Climb Down

On Friday night, 1st May 2020 I received a letter from UK solicitors Bristows instructed by Twitter. They demanded I take down my article of 14 April 2020 about Twitter, claiming it was defamatory of unnamed staff. Now, after I wrote back pointing out I was legally qualified and identifying their procedural errors, they claim this was just an informational comment, and not a libel threat at all and they do not have to reply to my requests for information as they are not proceeding with the Pre-Action Protocol they have to follow in England before suing me.

Extract from Bristows' Email of 6 May 2020

Bristows now claim they were never threatening to sue me on behalf of Twitter. I understand that Robert Graham and Alex Keenlyside are responsible. Image adjusted to show headed paper logo above the relevant paragraph.

In England, the Civil Procedure rules require that before suing someone you write them a letter and try to resolve the claim with them. In libel, the applicable rule is the Pre-action Protocol for Media and Communications Claims. If a party fails to follow the rules, the court can impose tough sanctions like ordering them to pay some or all of the other side’s legal fees even if they ‘win’ and the other party ‘loses’.

As pointed out in my previous article, in their letter to me, Bristows were missing a lot of important information such as (for example) the name of any natural person claimant, details of the alleged serious harm and other elements required by UK law. Of particular importance the claimant has to set out which facts they dispute and why. Therefore I sent them a request for information under the protocol to include the missing information. Bristows now claim they were never following the protocol at all and so do not have to make any disclosures. It follows that there is no intent to sue me at all. I will still consider complaints and further letters with an open mind but in the absence of the requested information see no reason to remove or modify my article.

That is, my article naming Vijaya Gadde and Del Harvey (née Alison Shea) and stating that they had intentionally and in breach of Twitter’s supposed policy allowed vile harassment / stalking of a child abuse victim and anti-Semitic hate speech. My article also stated that, in effect, they were backing the anti-Semite and the stalker by allowing them to continue to post. I am not in receipt of any clear factual statement from Twitter setting out any basis as to why those allegations are wrong.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg once famously described Twitter as being like a clown car that crashed in a gold-mine. Apparently, this is also true of their lawyers.

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