From the Daily Post, September 2016:
A blogger has been arrested on suspicion of stalking after police raided a property on Anglesey.
Darren Laverty was arrested when officers from North Wales Police swooped on the house at Llanfairpwll at roughly 7am.
Local reports say the front door was rammed off its hinges when the early morning search warrant was executed.
And from David Hencke, January 2017:
Police arrest man on suspicion of stalking a child sexual abuse survivor
…I understand the man arrested was Simon Just and the person who was being allegedly stalked was Esther Baker, who has publicly disclosed that she is an abuse survivor.
…In a separate move earlier another man – understood to be Darren Laverty – has also been arrested and charged with stalking Esther Baker and another woman, a journalist.
Both cases have now been dropped; according to the journalist Mark Watts on Twitter (start here):
I asked CPS + Met for statements yesterday. CPS today: “Following a review of additional evidence received from the police, we have concluded that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction, and will not be pursuing the case.” CPS re Darren Laverty added in its statement: “The court and the parties involved have been informed.”… Simon Just was to answer police bail this month after arrest in Jan on suspicion of online stalking, but Met is dropping investigation… Met has made no comment as yet…
One wonders what the “additional evidence” was, and why the police previously thought that there was enough to go on for a investigation into not just alleged harassment but of the more serious “stalking”.
The case is of interest for several reasons.
1. Baker alleges that she was subjected to organised and ritualistic sex abuse as a child, and her claims are currently under police investigation. Among other things, she says that she was taken to Dolphin Square in London by night, where she was abused by VIPs. She remains a vocal supporter of “Nick”, whose extravagant claims of sadistic sex abuse by politicians and others prompted the “Operation Midland” fiasco. She has also provided commentary on VIP abuse for the Richie Allen Show, a conspiracy radio podcast associated with David Icke.
2. Simon Just has written critically about Baker a number of times on social media. He has also criticised the Lantern Project, which provides a controversial therapeutic treatment to abuse survivors. Baker is associated with the organisation.
3. News of the police action against Laverty and Just was received with some glee online, with a number of accounts (some anonymous) triumphantly expressing great confidence that prosecutions and convictions would follow. Watts – who had championed “Nick’s” claims at Exaro News – wrote on the day Just was arrested: “Oh and Happy New Year! So far, 2017 is already going better than 2016. Eight green bottles hanging on the wall”. The obvious inference from this was that two individuals had now “fallen”, and that further arrests would follow. Baker RTed the Tweet.
4. Also among those praising Just’s arrest was the libertarian “free speech” Tweeter Robert Ambridge (“Old Holborn”), who alleges that Just had targeted him in the past.
5. The arrests were also cited by the barrister Sarah Phillimore as part of ongoing feud against another barrister, Barbara Hewson. As I wrote about last month, Phillimore recently made an allegation of harassment against Barbara; according to her own account, she said that
…I am very concerned that Ms Hewson is in contact with two men who have just been arrested for stalking Esther Baker and an unnamed journalist. These men are Simon Just and Darren Laverty.
This “concern” comes across as affected, and the “guilt by association” tactic now looks more opportunistic and trivial than ever.
6. There does not seem to be any legal reason why the journalist is “unnamed”, although just in case there is, I will refrain from providing the name here.
UPDATE March 2020: Simon Just reports that, three years later, the Metropolitan Police have settled a claim brought by him for wrongful arrest and related matters for an undisclosed amount. Further details here.
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