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Neutral Citation Number: [2013] EWHC 332 (QB)
Case No: ATC/11/0841
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 21/02/2013
Before :
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE TUGENDHAT
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Between :
(1) GERRY MCCANN (2) KATE MCCANN Claimant- and -
TONY BENNETT Defendant
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Ms Adrienne Page QC and Mr Jacob Dean (instructed by
Carter-Ruck) for the Claimants
The Defendant appeared in person
Hearing dates: 21 Febraury 2013
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -SENTENCING REMARKS
Mr Justice Tugendhat :
1. Mr Bennett, for reasons set out in the judgment which I
handed down this morning(Neutral Citation Number [2013] EWHC 283
(QB)) I have found you to be in breach
of the undertakings you gave to the court in the order dated 25
November 2009. My
findings relate to thirteen breaches. I have made no finding in
relation to the very
large number of other breaches which the Claimants have alleged.
The Claimants did
not ask me to, for reasons explained in my judgment.
2. The Claimants have made clear that they consider that the
question whether to imposea penalty, and if so what penalty, is a
matter for the court alone to decide. Their
objective in bringing this committal application has not been to
see you punished, but
to put a stop to the repeated conduct which you undertook to the
court that you would
not repeat.
3. Ms Page has made submissions to the court. But apart from
making clear the stancewhich the Claimants adopt, these submissions
are directed to reminding the court of
the statutory powers and relevant case law, with a view to
assisting the court to
dispose of the matter in accordance with the law.
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THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE TUGENDHAT
Approved Judgment
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4. By the Contempt of Court 1981 s.14 the Court has power to
impose a custodialsentence limited to a maximum of two years. A
custodial sentence may be immediate
or it may be suspended. The court also has power to impose a
fine.
5. Matters which are relevant to the punishment in this case
include the following. TheClaimants have suffered injury to their
reputations and feelings by the repetition ofthe allegations which
you have repeated in breach of your undertakings. I have found
that you have acted intentionally in the manner explained in my
judgment. You were
deliberately flouting the Undertakings, and the apology that you
offered when giving
your evidence was insincere. I am sure that you appreciated the
seriousness of what
you were doing, not least because you trained to be a
solicitor.
6. It is also important to record, as I did in my judgment, that
the Claimants and theirsolicitors have repeatedly warned you of the
seriousness of your actions and of the
consequences. They resorted to this court only when you made
clear by your conduct
that there was nothing else that the Claimants could do to
persuade you to comply
with your undertakings. The consequence of the Claimants showing
this restraint hasbeen that they have incurred very large legal
costs. These costs do not reflect any
complications or difficulties in the case other than the
difficulties that you have
intentionally put in their way.
7. In mitigation I take into account the letters which I have
read from your brother andfrom others. You have much in your life
to help others. At this hearing you have
apologised again. And on this occasion I accept that your
apology is sincere.
8. The overriding consideration is that the purpose of committal
proceedings is to ensurethat a contemnor complies in future with
the undertakings which he has flouted. Your
conduct in this case has been so serious that I am satisfied
that nothing less than acustodial sentence would reflect the
seriousness of your breaches and the harm that
you have done. The sentence will be one of three months
custody.
9. However, I am also satisfied that I can suspend the sentence
for one year, oncondition that you comply with your undertakings in
the future for so long as they
remain in force during that period of suspension. The effect of
that will be that if you
breach the undertakings during that period, you may be brought
back before the court
and committed to prison to serve this sentence of imprisonment
and any other
sentence that may be imposed upon you for the further
breach.
10. I order that you pay the costs of the proceedings to be the
subject of a detailassessment if not agreed.11. The directions for
the hearing of your application to vary or discharge your
undertakings will be set out in an order to be drawn up.
