Talk:Barrie Penrose
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HELLO, EVERYONE, MY NAME IS GORDON WINTER. I AM A RETIRED JOURNALIST (AND INTELLIGENCE AGENT) AND THE WORDS BELOW WERE POSTED BY ME ON 14 MARCH 2008.
STATEMENT BEGINS:
In April 1997, I complained to the Sunday Times that an article written by Barrie Penrose in the Sunday Times dated 27 April 1997 was riddled with mistakes and contained several statements that were untrue -- and provably untrue. The Sunday Times was not interested in listening to what I had to say. So I then complained to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) about that article written by Barrie Penrose which was published in the Sunday Times dated 27 April 1997. Over a period of two years, I typed out more than 1,000 pages which proved conclusively that Penrose's article was untruthful and contained many mistakes. I backed those 1,000 pages up with exactly 270 EXHIBITS OF PROOF signed by people mentioned in Penrose's articles -- in which they, along with my neighbours, my local medical centre, my local bank, local shopkeepers, restaurants, hospitals -- and the three local postmen. (ALL THOSE PEOPLE CONFIRMED IN SIGNED STATEMENTS TO THE PCC, THAT I HAD NOT, REPEAT NOT, BEEN LIVING UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME -- AS CLAIMED BY PENROSE IN HIS ARTICLE -- BECAUSE THEY HAD KNOWN THAT MY NAME WAS GORDON WINTER WEEKS BEFORE PENROSE'S ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY TIMES. THEIR LETTERS ALSO DENIED MANY OTHER STATEMENTS PENROSE HAD MADE IN HIS ARTICLE. I spite of all that, the Press Complaints Commission turned down my complaint -- and, incredibly, they did so without bothering to check with ANY of the people who had signed letters to them. Yes, incredibly, the P.C.C. did not even check with my local Barclays Bank (who confirmed (IN WRITING) that I had accounts with them in my name Gordon Winter before Penrose's article was published. No, the P.C.C. also did not bother to check with my local Medical Centre just round the corner -- which confirmed to the P.C.C. -- (IN WRITING) that they had known me as Gordon Winter before Penrose's article was published. And no, the P.C.C. did not even bother to check with the three local postmen who confirmed (IN WRITING) that they had known me as Gordon Winter before Penrose's article was published. I was so disgusted by the PCC's disgraceful behaviour that I then complained to the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport. They opened an investigation into my case and satisfied themselves that I had been the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice. If you wish to know the full story, please type:
Gordon Winter+Sunday Times+Barrie Penrose (don't forget to include the + marks)
in the Google Search Box and you will be taken straight to my case -- which is headed: "House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport - written evidence".
Click on that and all will be made clear to you. At the end of it, you will see an exact copy of Barrie Penrose's article in the Sunday Times -- so that you can judge for yourself whether Penrose's article was accurate or not. Although you will be shocked by Penrose's article in the Sunday Times, it gets worse because, for the Irish edition of the Sunday Times of the same date (27 April 1997) Barrie Penrose had re-written his story (so that it included some Irish "angles" because I had lived in Ireland for some 8 years and was well known there). Penrose's Irish article contained an additional eight provable mistakes and untruthful statements, so I complained to the Press Complaints Commission about that as well. But they refused to even consider my "Irish" complaint on the grounds that their Code of Practice "DOES NOT APPLY TO NEWSPAPER ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN SOUTHERN IRELAND". (IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE P.C.C. IS NOT AWARE THAT IT IS ACTUALLY THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND!) My reaction to the P.C.C's excuse for not being able to consider my "Irish" complaint was sheer disbelief. So much so that I informed them of the following:
"DEAR SIRS:
MY SHORTER OXFORD DICTIONARY TELLS ME THAT LIBEL CAN TAKE THE FORM OF A “SHORT WRITING” OR “A WRITTEN PAPER”, AND WHICH IS “POSTED UP” OR “PUBLICLY CIRCULATED”.
THAT IS WHY I WISH TO POINT OUT TO YOU THAT THE ARTICLE WHICH APPEARED UNDER THE NAME OF BARRIE PENROSE IN THE IRISH EDITION OF THE SUNDAY TIMES WAS WRITTEN BY BARRIE PENROSE IN ENGLAND AND PROCESSED IN THE LONDON OFFICES OF THE SUNDAY TIMES BEFORE BEING TRANSMITTED TO THE SUNDAY TIMES OFFICE IN IRELAND. AND, WHILE BEING PROCESSED IN THE LONDON OFFICES OF THE SUNDAY TIMES THE IRISH EDITION ARTICLE MUST HAVE BEEN READ BY AT LEAST TWO OR THREE MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL STAFF IN THAT LONDON OFFICE (NOT COUNTING PROOF-READERS AND COMPUTER OPERATORS) BEFORE BEING TRANSMITTED TO IRELAND AND, ACCORDING TO MY LEGAL ADVISERS, THAT CONSTITUTES PRIOR PUBLICATION, IN ENGLAND, OF PENROSE’S IRISH EDITION ARTICLE. I ALSO CLAIM THAT BY BEING SEEN BY TWO OR MORE PERSONS IN THE LONDON OFFICES OF THE SUNDAY TIMES, PENROSE’S IRISH EDITION ARTICLE WAS THUS “PUBLICLY CIRCULATED” IN ENGLAND. IN COMMON WITH MOST OTHER NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS, THE EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT OF THE SUNDAY TIMES FEEDS ARTICLES INTO COMPUTERS IN ORDER TO ARRANGE THE FONT TYPE, SIZE AND LAY-OUT DESIRED --- PRIOR TO THE ARTICLE BEING TRANSFERRED TO IRELAND. I CLAIM THAT, BY BEING PLACED ON COMPUTERS BASED IN LONDON, PENROSE’S ARTICLE FOR THE IRISH EDITION WAS “POSTED UP” IN ENGLAND – WHICH, YET AGAIN, CONSTITUTES PUBLICATION IN ENGLAND."
But I was wasting my time. The P.C.C was not interested in anything I had to say. I WANTED TO SUE THE SUNDAY TIMES, BUT MY LAWYER WANTED A HUGE SUM OF MONEY UP FRONT ON THE (UNDERSTANDABLE) GROUNDS THAT IT IS QUITE RARE TO WIN A LIBEL ACTION AGAINST A NEWSPAPER -- WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO DO SO. AND I DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY. IF ANY WRITER IS INTERESTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MY CASE, I WOULD BE MOST WILLING TO SEND HIM OR HER COPIES OF ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS (AND EXHIBITS) I SUBMITTED TO THE PRESS COMPLAINTS COMMISSION. SIGNED: GORDON WINTER 14 MARCH 2008 Gordonwinter (talk) 15:47, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
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