Dear Paulette [who recommended I publish this for the benefit of other victims, especially the time limits]
Thank you for your recent enquiry via policeclaims.co.uk.
I was sorry to hear of your experience and fully appreciate that you wish to take the matter further.
As I am sure you appreciate, instructing a solicitor is a serious (and costly) business, so the first issue to resolve when considering whether to take action is how your case is to be funded.
Unfortunately, my firm does not offer Legal Aid.
On the basis of the information you have provided, I am not willing to act by way of Conditional Fee (i.e. No win, No fee) Agreement and so if you wish to instruct this firm, I will only act by way of private retainer and will require a minimum and immediate payment on account of £5,000.00. I will regularly account to you with costs updates, and provide you with a full costs estimate if you proceed to formally instruct my firm to represent you. In the event your matter is resolved prior to the £5,000 being used you will receive a refund. If not, I will approach you again for further payments.
If you do ultimately succeed on your case you will generally be entitled to claim your costs from your opponent. Equally, if you lose your case, you will generally be liable to pay your opponent’s costs, which can be anywhere in the region of £5,000 – £25,000.
If you wish to proceed on a private retainer basis, please forward a cheque for that sum whereupon I will contact you to take further instructions.
Alternatively, if these terms are not acceptable, I suggest that you contact Community Legal Advice on 0845 345 4 345 who should be able to provide you with a list of firms who also specialise in Actions Against the Police and who may be able to assist.
Please note the following time limits apply to Action Against the Police:
Judicial Review – 3 months
Discrimination – 6 months less one day from the act/emission complained of.
Human Rights Act – 1 year less 1 day from causative breach of relevant Article.
Police Complaint – 1 year from act complained of.
Negligence, Assault, False Imprisonment, Malicious Prosecution, Misfeasance, Data Protection Act – 3 years if claiming personal injury, 6 years if not. Limitation only begins to run when the Claimant reaches 18 and/or is not under a mental disability.
I look forward to hearing from you. In the event you choose not to instruct my firm, I wish you well with your case.
Yours sincerely
Kevin Donoghue
Solicitor – Principal
Donoghue Solicitors, 39 Victoria Road, Crosby, Merseyside, L23 7XY DX: 20402 Crosby
Tel: 0151 924 6690 Fax: 0151 924 5009 www.donoghue-solicitors.co.uk
Related articles
- Now we have more lawyers than police thanks to legal aid (dailymail.co.uk)
- Mail story on lawyers’ pay angers Law Society – but the paper is not all wrong (guardian.co.uk)
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May 18, 2011 @ 18:29:56
My own experience and that of other people whose stories I have studied, suggest to me that it’s a complete waste of time complaining against the police for reason that one or more officers have committed a crime (whether against you or against the law generally), as they will always cover for each other, the CPS will cover for them, the IPCC will always protect a police officer doing wrong (that’s why they are called the Imitation Police Complaints Commission), and the police may even embark on a vendetta against you (it has been known). Even if you have money to spend on lawyers, you may still not get redress or see those officers engaged in criminal activity convicted.
There are of course apparent exceptions to this rule, as when the IPCC put on a show of investigation, where there is a high profile case, such as caused by a police officer killing an innocent party in front of television cameras. Even so, the outcome of many such cases is a whitewash.
The answer then – IMHO – is to campaign for a change in the system. We need a system where the actions of all police officers are directly accountable to the public on whose behalf they should be working. However; changing the system isn’t as easy as it sounds, for reasons too complicated to go into here…
May 18, 2011 @ 18:41:10
I was under the impression it was six years time limit full stop. Reagrdless, I got my paperwork to Court within a year—-and they then promptly just disregarded/ irgnored it!
Prior to that I tried IPCC. They just told the yobos involved who promptly came around, kicked the door in and kicked the proverbial shit out of me again. Still suspect they may be officially employed as pigyob officers….intensively tortured for a couple of months then, and still targetted to this day….there is no sane or rational reason to it!
I suggest a national Raoull Moat day. If enough people did that and got organised all on the same day then it might just be enough to create some real change….evolution is violent, we’re never going to win unless we are prepared to stoop to their level…..
May 19, 2011 @ 05:07:19
It is a waste of time & money contacting a solicitor to sue the police, The Law Society is totaly corrupt & bankrupt re: no funds to pay “victims” who were robbed by bent solicitors ie. my friend Frank Dale promised a pay-out 7 years ago & still waiting.
The IPCC CCRC CPS. HMRC in fact every govnt.-cum establishment dept. work together ie: to conspire against any British citizen .
Now forget all the misinformation and bull—–t ” there is no time limitation in
Britain for serious crime ” Hence the Stephen Lawrence murder 23 years ago
has now resulted in two men being arrested for his murder 18 May 11.
Lord Judge said ” The murder of Stephen Lawrence was a calamitous crime” He
is still an acting judge.
The Police are the biggest “organised criminal gang ” in the Country Only by
informing citizens and demanding a Public Inquiry into this gang will anything get done ! Teressa May Home Secretary is making a start, Something else you
should know ! a Constable is an ” Office” a constable cannot be fired or sacked !
that is why they are slowly getting rid of constables and replacing them with
PCSO,s Blunketts ” hobby bobbies ” the marxist labor group realised a constable is a queens agent and so the socialist dream needs rid-off them ( not all bad these
marxist,s )
And remember We are all “secretly enslaved in a monarchy” which violates
our European Citizenship. We should be complaining daily to Vivianne Reding
Euro Justice Commission in the sameway the Roma did, It stuffed the French govnt.
Until You realise the devious methods developed over centuries to secretly enslave yourself, You will never break free ! it took the Libyans, 40 years Egyptians, 30 years, now Bahrein, Yemen, Tunisia, their tyrannt leaders were amateuars compared to our monarchy. thats been there hundreds of years. Of course
you can allways ” seek legal advice ” from another solicitor queens agent.
Apr 16, 2013 @ 22:32:37
my advice is always have a video camera at hand pigs doney like this get it on utube and rip the crap out of the cheif constable this will damage these fers more than anything else it shows the pig in true light
Apr 17, 2013 @ 03:48:59
Just confirming what I said in my comment of May 2011, ( 2 years ago) about
time limits on criminal offences ! there are no limits ! hence Stuart Hall. has
been charged with sexual offences supposedly committed 40 years ago!
It seems very strange to me, that the Jimmy Savile debacle has only resulted
in arrests of hi-profile entertainers, Freddie Star, Jim Davidson, Dave Lee- Travis, Fred the weatherman Granada TV, very odd no solicitors, lawyers,
policemen, The one thing in common is money guilty or innocent these
poor sods will ALL get a hefty LEGAL BILL ! to pay for their defence, it
will run into hundreds of thousands £££££ each !
Thats the british law for you ! And of course Hillsborough will only confirm
what we victims already know ! and the silly public one day will realise, or
am I dreaming ? The Birmingham Six. Guildford Four, Steve Kisko, Stephen
Downing, it just goes on and on, but there are good cops out there, all is
not lost.