Adrian Davies
Encyclopedia
Adrian Davies is a barrister
and a member of Lincoln's Inn
, London. He was formerly a solicitor
with the magic circle firm, Slaughter and May
. He is the eldest son of the traditionalist Catholic writer, Michael Davies
.
, where he took a first class honours degree
in modern languages in 1985 and at the University of London
where he took a LLM
degree. Davies is fluent in French
and Croatian
.
During 2008 Davies successfully represented Shaun Brady
, former general secretary of the rail union ASLEF, and Steven Trumm (a fellow union activist) in libel actions against Brady's successor as ASLEF leader Keith Norman
.
Another of Davies's best known clients was the Pakistani-born Manchester businessman Shami Ahmed
.
Probably Davies's best publicised client was the former Big Brother
contestant Lisa Jeynes, who unsuccessfully sought up to £150,000 from the News of the World
in 2007. Ms Jeynes contended that an article in the newspaper in 2003 had implied she was a transsexual. Mr Justice Eady in the High Court in London ruled that no reasonable reader would have drawn that inference from the newspaper's words, and therefore threw out Ms Jeynes' case.
In a landmark family law case in 2006 he successfully represented Mrs Lillian Day in a dispute with her son over the beneficial ownership of a family home.
He unsuccessfully represented the controversial British Holocaust denier
David Irving
at the Court of Appeal in 2001 after Irving had failed in a libel action against Deborah Lipstadt
and Penguin Books
. Irving had represented himself at the trial before Mr Justice Gray.
In August 2007, Davies unsuccessfully represented two members of the British National Party
in an appeal against a libel judgement given at first instance in favour of Searchlight
magazine. The court ruled that the so-called 'Reynolds defence' applied, which meant that Davies was prevented from arguing the claimants' case against the alleged defamation on the merits. Roberts v. Gable is regarded as a leading case on the reportage defence.
He represented Simon Sheppard
, who was the first person in the UK to be convicted of inciting racial hatred on the internet, and in January 2010 succeeded in convincing the Court of Appeal to reduce Sheppard's sentence.
, on the Piccadilly Line
of the London Underground
. Brompton Road closed in 1934. Davies operates a website to promote the campaign, and has given several interviews on the issue including a BBC feature.
Herald, have led to complicated litigation in the Belgian and English courts. An attempt by Adrian Davies to launch parallel proceedings in Belgium without notifying the Belgian Court of English proceedings was blocked by a landmark anti-suit injunction granted by Miss Sarah Asplin QC on 20 May 2011 http://lexisweb.co.uk/cases/2011/may/morris-v-davies-and-others, where she stated "Given that the present defendants had submitted to the hearing of that issue and allowed costs to be incurred , in my judgement such conduct is vexatious and oppressive". The judgement to the preliminary issue to determine the domicile of Owen Davies was handed down on 12 July 2011 by Mr Charles Hollander QC http://lexisweb.co.uk/cases/2011/july/morris-v-davies-and-others and ruled against Adrian Davies and his associate Mark Simeon Jones (both barristers of 3 Doctor Johnson's Buildings, London). The Judge determined that "Owen never lost his domicile of origin, and remained domiciled in England" and not domiciled in Belgium as claimed by Adrian Davies and family, and is further reported in the Stratford
Herald on 14 July 2011. A costs hearing for the domicile case was held on 12 September 2011, and Mr Davies and family was ordered by Mr Charles Hollander QC to pay initial costs of £50000, with the final amount to be determined by a costs judge at a subsequent hearing. On 18 November 2011 The Honourable Lord Justice Lewison at The Court of Appeal refused permission to appeal on three counts for the anti-suit injunction granted on 20 May 2011, for the preliminary hearing granted on 12 July 2011, and for the stay of costs order of 12 September 2011 requested by Adrian Davies. A further hearing is due early in 2012 to prove the validity of the will.
Mr. Davies and his sister Adrienne Mamber are said to be co-authoring a book about the case called Texts from beyond the Grave or Une Histoire Belge, scheduled to appear after the trial.
, a former executive committee member of Tory Action
and secretary of the London Swinton Circle
. He is also a co-founder of the Bloomsbury Forum with Jonathan Bowden
.
He addressed a fringe meeting of the Conservative Democratic Alliance
at the Conservative Party
Conference in October 2002.
Adrian Davies was chairman of the now-defunct United Kingdom
Freedom Party (which is not connected to the British Freedom Party). He was the Freedom Party's sole candidate in the 2005 general election
, contesting South Staffordshire which, owing to the death of a candidate, was postponed from May 5 to June 23. His manifesto embraced, inter alia, opposition to immigration (using the slogan "Enoch Powell
was right!"), the European Union
and the euro
and favoured a protectionist
economic stance. Davies polled 473 votes, 1.7% of all those cast.
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and a member of Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, London. He was formerly a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
with the magic circle firm, Slaughter and May
Slaughter and May
Slaughter and May is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. It also has offices in Beijing, Brussels and Hong Kong....
. He is the eldest son of the traditionalist Catholic writer, Michael Davies
Michael Davies (Catholic writer)
Michael Treharne Davies was a British teacher, and traditionalist Catholic writer of many books about the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council...
.
Education
Davies was educated at Jesus College, CambridgeJesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, where he took a first class honours degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in modern languages in 1985 and at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
where he took a LLM
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
degree. Davies is fluent in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
.
Legal career
After a year spent as a trainee at Ernst & Young, Davies qualified and practised litigation for six years as a solicitor at Slaughter and May. His specialist area was property litigation in which field he was known as a tenacious and enthusiastic litigator. Davies later retrained as a barrister and was called to the bar in 1998. He now practises at 3 Dr Johnson's Buildings. His specialist areas include recoveries; real property, mortgages, landlord & tenant; wills, probate and trusts; civil actions against the Police, Customs & Excise et al.; and slander and libel.During 2008 Davies successfully represented Shaun Brady
Shaun Brady
Shaun Brady was general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen , the train drivers' trade union in Great Britain....
, former general secretary of the rail union ASLEF, and Steven Trumm (a fellow union activist) in libel actions against Brady's successor as ASLEF leader Keith Norman
Keith Norman
Keith Norman is general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen , the train drivers' trade union in Great Britain. He comes from Wales, and is a supporter of the Labour Party.- External links :* from BBC website...
.
Another of Davies's best known clients was the Pakistani-born Manchester businessman Shami Ahmed
Shami Ahmed
Eaitisham "Shami" Ahmed is a Pakistani born British founder of the Joe Bloggs clothing brand.Born in Pakistan, his parents emigrated to England in 1964, when he was aged 2. His father Nizam started a profitable retail clothing business Ahmed Hosiery, in Burnley...
.
Probably Davies's best publicised client was the former Big Brother
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
contestant Lisa Jeynes, who unsuccessfully sought up to £150,000 from the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
in 2007. Ms Jeynes contended that an article in the newspaper in 2003 had implied she was a transsexual. Mr Justice Eady in the High Court in London ruled that no reasonable reader would have drawn that inference from the newspaper's words, and therefore threw out Ms Jeynes' case.
In a landmark family law case in 2006 he successfully represented Mrs Lillian Day in a dispute with her son over the beneficial ownership of a family home.
He unsuccessfully represented the controversial British Holocaust denier
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
at the Court of Appeal in 2001 after Irving had failed in a libel action against Deborah Lipstadt
Deborah Lipstadt
Deborah Esther Lipstadt, Ph.D. is an American historian and author of the book Denying the Holocaust and The Eichmann Trial. She is the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University...
and Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
. Irving had represented himself at the trial before Mr Justice Gray.
In August 2007, Davies unsuccessfully represented two members of the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
in an appeal against a libel judgement given at first instance in favour of Searchlight
Searchlight (magazine)
Searchlight is a British anti-fascist magazine, founded in 1975 by Gerry Gable, which publishes exposés about racism, antisemitism, and fascism in the UK....
magazine. The court ruled that the so-called 'Reynolds defence' applied, which meant that Davies was prevented from arguing the claimants' case against the alleged defamation on the merits. Roberts v. Gable is regarded as a leading case on the reportage defence.
He represented Simon Sheppard
Simon Sheppard (activist)
Simon Guy Sheppard is a political activist from Hull, England, who runs a number of websites promoting his far right views; his main website contains many articles denouncing women, the multiracial society and Jews, stating that these have negative effects upon Western society and for white males...
, who was the first person in the UK to be convicted of inciting racial hatred on the internet, and in January 2010 succeeded in convincing the Court of Appeal to reduce Sheppard's sentence.
Brompton Road campaign
In 2009 Adrian Davies launched a campaign to reopen Brompton Road stationBrompton Road tube station
Brompton Road tube station is a disused station on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground. It is located between Knightsbridge and South Kensington.-History:...
, on the Piccadilly Line
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
of the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
. Brompton Road closed in 1934. Davies operates a website to promote the campaign, and has given several interviews on the issue including a BBC feature.
Death of brother Owen Davies
The unexpected death from a coronary illness of one of his brothers, Owen, a patent agent with Renault S.A., and its bizarre aftermath, extensively reported in the StratfordStratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
Herald, have led to complicated litigation in the Belgian and English courts. An attempt by Adrian Davies to launch parallel proceedings in Belgium without notifying the Belgian Court of English proceedings was blocked by a landmark anti-suit injunction granted by Miss Sarah Asplin QC on 20 May 2011 http://lexisweb.co.uk/cases/2011/may/morris-v-davies-and-others, where she stated "Given that the present defendants had submitted to the hearing of that issue and allowed costs to be incurred , in my judgement such conduct is vexatious and oppressive". The judgement to the preliminary issue to determine the domicile of Owen Davies was handed down on 12 July 2011 by Mr Charles Hollander QC http://lexisweb.co.uk/cases/2011/july/morris-v-davies-and-others and ruled against Adrian Davies and his associate Mark Simeon Jones (both barristers of 3 Doctor Johnson's Buildings, London). The Judge determined that "Owen never lost his domicile of origin, and remained domiciled in England" and not domiciled in Belgium as claimed by Adrian Davies and family, and is further reported in the Stratford
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
Herald on 14 July 2011. A costs hearing for the domicile case was held on 12 September 2011, and Mr Davies and family was ordered by Mr Charles Hollander QC to pay initial costs of £50000, with the final amount to be determined by a costs judge at a subsequent hearing. On 18 November 2011 The Honourable Lord Justice Lewison at The Court of Appeal refused permission to appeal on three counts for the anti-suit injunction granted on 20 May 2011, for the preliminary hearing granted on 12 July 2011, and for the stay of costs order of 12 September 2011 requested by Adrian Davies. A further hearing is due early in 2012 to prove the validity of the will.
Mr. Davies and his sister Adrienne Mamber are said to be co-authoring a book about the case called Texts from beyond the Grave or Une Histoire Belge, scheduled to appear after the trial.
Politics
Davies was previously an executive council member of the Conservative Monday ClubConservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
, a former executive committee member of Tory Action
Tory Action
Tory Action was a right-wing pressure group within the British Conservative Party, founded by in November 1974 by George Kennedy Young and Airey Neave and right-wing defectors from the Monday Club.-Activities:...
and secretary of the London Swinton Circle
Swinton circle
The London Swinton Circle is a British pressure group with links to the Conservative Party. It states that it stands for "traditional Conservative and Unionist principles"-History and membership:...
. He is also a co-founder of the Bloomsbury Forum with Jonathan Bowden
Jonathan Bowden
Jonathan Bowden is a British artist and political figure who has been involved with a number of political parties and groups, and is a leading speaker on the nationalist circuit.-Career:...
.
He addressed a fringe meeting of the Conservative Democratic Alliance
Conservative Democratic Alliance
The Conservative Democratic Alliance was a United Kingdom pressure group. The CDA referred to itself as the "authentic voice of conservatism"...
at the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Conference in October 2002.
Adrian Davies was chairman of the now-defunct United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Freedom Party (which is not connected to the British Freedom Party). He was the Freedom Party's sole candidate in the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, contesting South Staffordshire which, owing to the death of a candidate, was postponed from May 5 to June 23. His manifesto embraced, inter alia, opposition to immigration (using the slogan "Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
was right!"), the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
and favoured a protectionist
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
economic stance. Davies polled 473 votes, 1.7% of all those cast.
Elections contested
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160.... |
South Staffordshire | UK Freedom Party | 473 | 1.7 |
Publications
- Wilson - The Political Soldier in Standardbearers - British Roots of the New Right, (editor with Jonathan Bowden and Eddy Butler, Bloomsbury Forum publication, Beckenham, Kent, April 1999 ISBN 0-9537309-0-5
- Bonar Law in Standardbearers - British Roots of the New Right, (editor with Jonathan Bowden and Eddy Butler, Bloomsbury Forum publication, Beckenham, Kent, April 1999 ISBN 0-9537309-0-5
- Chamberlain The greatest Prime Minister we never had in Standardbearers - British Roots of the New Right, (editor with Jonathan Bowden and Eddy Butler, Bloomsbury Forum publication, Beckenham, Kent, April 1999 ISBN 0-9537309-0-5
- The ‘extreme Right’ why it failed - a review by Adrian Davies of Many Shades of Black by John Bean, Hedgerow Publishing (Aug 1999) ISBN 1-85845-256-2
External links
- Reports on some of Adrian Davies's cases
- Adrian Davies's website about Brompton Road station
- Adrian Davies talks about the current state of the Conservatives under their new leader, David Cameron Part 1
- Adrian Davies talks about the current state of the Conservatives under their new leader, David Cameron Part 2
- Adrian Davies talks about the current state of the Conservatives under their new leader, David Cameron Part 3