ON December 1, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgement on my legal challenge to lockdown. The Lord Chief Justice, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Singh decided the Government should not face a judicial review of the first lockdown measures.
Despite accepting there was public interest for the appeal to be heard on the ground that the Government acted ‘ultra vires’ (beyond its powers) by using the Public Health Act 1984 to impose lockdown, ultimately, the court held against us.
We vehemently disagree with this and so our fight will go on, by seeking permission to appeal on the ‘ultra vires’ point to the Supreme Court.
Why? Because this is the only avenue left to hold the Government to account for the utter devastation it has caused to its people. With the Covid-19 winter plan already causing ruin to every echelon of society, our case is now more crucial than ever.
Last week, 99 per cent of the population was plunged into Tier 2 or Tier 3 restrictions. Lockdown Groundhog Day continues. Once again, some 55million people are living in a pointless purgatory of measures which, as many are beginning to see, will cause irrevocable damage to the industries which keep our country afloat.
Ninety-eight per cent of the hospitality industry, which usually generates around £8billion revenue throughout December, has fallen into the top two tiers. This amount will simply be wiped from the economy this year. With pubs, restaurants and hotels banking as much as 40 per cent of their annual profits between Halloween and January, the fact that 72 per cent are fearing permanent closure is not a surprise. Boris Johnson’s decision to give traditional ‘wet’ pubs a one-off placatory grant of £1,000 is simply derisory. More than anything, the move shows how shockingly out of touch the Government has become with the monumental struggles hospitality is facing.
Armageddon doesn’t stop there. The new tier system will run the travel and tourism industry, already on its knees, down to the ground. Last year, 14.5million Britons planned an overnight trip in the UK during the Christmas period, bringing an estimated £2.9billion boost to the economy. With the population bamboozled about where they can travel and when, this revenue is fated to be lost.
Now, the media wants us to think our ‘virus victory’ day is in sight, as the UK (despite losing the battle in terms of economic, social and personal costs) has become the first nation in the world to approve vaccine use. Mass vaccination is due to commence next week, yet there seems to be no comprehensive plan as to how this will all work. Even today, the cracks are showing, with the reports showing the Government can only have 800,000 vaccine doses by the end of the year, despite arrogantly stating the figure would be 10million.
Our tinpot cabinet has even gone to the trouble of appointing a Vaccine Rollout Minister, who, instead of advising on the logistics of vaccinating 66million people, has been scaremongering how those who choose not to be vaccinated could find normal life forever curtailed – I’m glad he’s got his priorities straight. The Government has set aside normal safety standards for these vaccines, and the companies who make them have no liability, only profit.
We find ourselves no longer living in a functioning democracy. If Parliament isn’t examining the lockdown restrictions and the courts will not review what the Government has done, then who is holding ministers to account? How is it that we have come to live in some kind of elective dictatorship, where our leaders are free to do whatever they want?
Given the continued acquiescence of MPs and peers to the making of the lockdown laws, our last chance to challenge these draconian measures rests with an appeal to the Supreme Court.
This is not a one-man crusade. It is on behalf of the millions of families and businesses across the UK whose lives are being wrecked by policies hastily implemented without a second thought as to their implications. Our legal challenge has become one of the largest crowdfunded cases in UK legal history. We have raised over £410,000 from almost 14,000 pledges. This fight is on behalf of all of those people.
If you wish to contribute to the fight, please click here. https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/lockdownlegalchallenge/
