Due process is the foundation of the rule of law, so cannot be sacrificed
When I was a young boy in the late 1970s I was out playing with my friends. I grew up on a newly built housing estate not far from Heathrow airport, and many of the properties had garages in blocks off the main road. I vaguely recall I had one of my friends with me, and we were cycling about and running around. Then, somehow, one of the drain covers gave way under me. I had done nothing to disturb it. I can still recall the steel hoops in the side of the deep concrete hole for workers to climb down and up.
While I was OK, one of my shoes had tumbled down, and there was no way to retrieve it. I hopped home, which was just around the corner, and my father came out. He was irate, having wrongly assumed I had somehow been playing with the drain cover. That I had lost a shoe (and they were not cheap to replace) compounded my perceived crime. I remember the intense sense of injustice as I was punished for something I had not done. Of course, by now I have long ago forgiven my father, knowing that parenting is an error-prone craft, not a precision engineering science.
I am reminded of this story because on my return home at the weekend from a trip to Scotland I found a piece of paper in an envelope in my letter box, from County Durham Outreach and Support. The council tax debt collectors have been around, which is a crime against me. I have asked for due process, many times, and they have ignored it, so continue to unlawfully harass and intimidate me. In my past articles I have shared video of an aggravated trespass incident, and how the police are not interested in crimes like fraud by officials. Bear in mind that I have done nothing wrong: my “crime” is to ask to see the court issued liability order that council claims exists.
Due process is not a nicety in law. It is the absolute foundation of justice. That Durham County Council refuse to acknowledge even my request for due process, and ignore all cease and desist notices, suggests that they involved in serious organised crime. Administrative tribunals are not courts of law, and are unconstitutional in England. There is also no underlying obligation to pay council tax, being a form of debt slavery. The council know that what they do is criminal, and exposure of this fact leads to financial collapse as well as prosecution. Hence they cannot afford to back down, and are trying to break those (like myself) who insist on our birthright of a fair trial.
Now that they have trespassed against me on three occasions, it is time to fight back with all the ferocity that I can muster. The first stop is a final cease and desist to the council’s CEO. I really am going to go after him personally, as the buck stops with him, and he has no protection for knowingly unlawful acts that he fails to stop. I am also going to personally sue all the other agents acting outside the law. Note they don’t even put the full name of their agent, to avoid accountability. That’s unlawful, too. My next act is to get their personal information, so I can launch an action against them for trespass and breach of my peace. This is no longer about council tax debt, it is a pure due process case.
I have to do this, even if it is a dirty job that saps my energy. My home is my sanctuary, and I feel “on edge” when this happens, so cannot relax. That affects my work and health. I am strong enough to hold up against this criminal onslaught in the guise of lawful debt enforcement, but others will end up having breakdowns. Many suffer extreme poverty as they give up essentials like food — to fund fat pensions for councillors that have no basis in law. This is predation of the weakest, and it is wicked and cruel. There is a moral duty to refuse to pay criminals, and to stand up and fight back when they want you to back off and bend over.
Here is the text of the notice I just sent to the council’s chief executive:
Dear Mr. Hewitt,
Notice to Cease and Desist
I am writing regarding a notice of a council tax Liability Order sent to my legal fiction name by Durham County Council on 25th August 2022. I believe it is important to ensure due process in all legal matters, including tax claims, since it is an unalienable and constitutional right that cannot be overridden by statute.
I responded with a conditional acceptance, requesting proof of the claim, which was not acknowledged. Instead, I received threats. Due process requires proof of a claim, which has not been provided.
I have repeatedly offered to pay based on proof of claim in multiple additional notices. Durham County Council has continued to demand payment without providing the required proof. This is unacceptable, places you in dishonour, and constitutes malicious communications. It is also a criminal offence contrary to The Fraud Act 2006 (including but not limited to Section 7.).
I have also withdrawn the implied right of access to my property on multiple occasions, which has been ignored three times with visits from CDOS to intimidate me into payment. These actions constitute aggravated trespass and harassment, which are criminal offences.
I return the attached as abandoned paper, since it lacks the full name of a man or woman, as well as being unsigned, therefore is not a lawful notice. I rebut its claim of money being owed, on the basis that you have not offered proof of claim of a valid Liability Order from a court of law. It is further disputed that Durham County Council and its agents are in any way, lawfully or legally entitled to act enforce any purported debt. Any such claimed powers or jurisdiction are repudiated.
You are hereby notified to cease and desist all enforcement action related to this case. As you have been previously notified of this fraudulent and intimidatory ultra vires activity, I hold you personally liable for these actions and will seek damages in the small claims court as a co-defendant.
It is hereby asserted and affirmed that any alleged Liability Order charge, bill, invoice or demand made in writing, electronically or verbally issued is defective and hence unlawful and unenforceable. It shall give rise to liability for any and all persons and/or corporate entities that attempt service of any such written instrument or verbal utterance in connection with any defective and/or unlawful alleged Liability Order that has been obtained without due process of law or in contravention of relevant case law.
If I do not hear from you within seven days with proof of claim, then I will take it as acquiescence to the fact that there is no lawful Liability Order, and that you have accepted such liability for further enforcement actions by yourselves or your agents.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Martin Geddes
Sharp eyes will notice that in wring to Mr Hewitt as Mr Geddes that we are dealing with our legal fictions under maritime/trust law, not men or women under common law. They may argue that a fair trial and due process is only a privilege, not a right, but outing that as their position is a win. That is culturally unacceptable, and removes any moral right they may have, since duress and trickery are involved in getting us to act as trustees to pay up, when we are beneficiaries. At the end of the day the council has participated in terrorism and war crimes under the Covid regime, and it is unlawful to fund them, regardless of this particular matter.
We don’t just naively trust authorities to tell the truth, and presume the public are liars. Due process is specifically to protect us against false claims, like money being owed when it is not, and corrupt institutions. Councils and courts are no exception. There are often systemic wrongs done by the establishment: think of the persecution of homosexuals in the past, or the prosecution of suffragettes for seeking the right to vote. When equality under the rule of law fails, then the worst possible abuses happen: apartheid, internment, human trafficking, warmongering, and even genocide. This is the kind of grievance that civil wars are made of; it is not a trivial matter. In this case they have no power of entry, so threatening to remove goods without due process is doubly immoral.
Council tax debt enforcement has invented a whole new jurisdiction of law outside of criminal, civil, and family law, abandoning our constitution and human rights. It has to be stopped, no matter what the cost. Case law is superior to modern statutes, and councils are attempting to overturn centuries of established law that say due process is a fundamental right in all civil cases. If we let them win on this, then we have given up any pretence to having limits to the power that can be exercised by the legislature. Even worse, this makes the judiciary institutionally and structurally complicit in organised crime. It is an open door to unlimited fraud and forfeits. We cannot tolerate punishment without any lawful court process.
I have been subjected to many crimes by Durham County Council and its staff, and it is not a comfortable place to be. They are in deep doo by being exposed, and know it, so this kind of pushback against criminals results in the criminals returning fire. We have to unite and stand by one another to end this tyranny — it takes more than one person. I can only do this because my basics are covered by paid Substack readers and SubscribeStar supporters, I have no employer to pressure, and do not accept any welfare benefits. My online reach means I can raise funds for court action, whereas most cannot. I am going to be needing your ongoing moral and practical support to go “all the way” on this truth and justice mission.
I can easily forgive my father for a trivial historic unfairness, but the justice professionals and elected leaders have to be held to account for ongoing financial rape of the public. Corrupt councils are circling the drain, and we have to push them down the deep smelly hole they have dug for themselves. The whole system of local government needs a reboot to put it back on a lawful basis, and if that involves an uncomfortable period of collapse, so be it. To prosper and be at peace we have to firmly reject government outlaws going to people’s houses threatening to steal their property, and extorting money via menaces. The other shoe is about to drop… and thankfully it isn’t mine this time!
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