A Brief and
Personal History of MSF Witch Hunts 
1999-2002
David
Beaumont
Nov 1999 The
NEC suspends me as treasurer along with Hugh and Sue. This was over London Region's attempts to stop the Labour party retrospectively
disenfranchising MSF members as part of their rigging of the London mayor
nomination process.
Dec 1999 I
submitted an appeal to my branch that the NEC were acting outside the rulebook
(‘ultra vires’).
Jan 2000 My
branch endorses my appeal and forwards it to General Secretary Lyons.
Apr 2000 Sue
wins election to the NEC. Next day the
NEC suspends her from all office along with me, Sue Millman, Hugh, Bob &
Sarah.
Apr 2000 The NEC bans us
from conference.
Apr 2000 The NEC put my
ultra vires appeal and any future ones 'into abeyance'.
Jun 2000 Conference
overrules the NEC and allows us in as visitors.
Mar 2001 Sue
Michie wins her Trade Union Certification Officer (CO) hearing, the CO un-suspends her and declares that the NEC
have breached rules 14 and 17(c).
Mar 2001 Ian
and I attend my first and last disciplinary hearing. We never get to meet the investigation panel or discuss the
investigation.
Apr 2001 The
NEC refuse to un-suspend Sue, they appeal the CO decision and schedule an
appeal court for me.
May 2001 I
write to MSF saying my ultra vires appeal has never been heard by the NEC so
how can I be taking this non-decision to the appeal court?
May 2001 The
appeal court continues in my absence and dismisses my non-existent appeal
against a non-existent NEC decision.
May 2001 I
write to the CO pointing out 9 breaches of rule with regard to this ‘appeal’
Dec 2001 Ian
and I attend a CO hearing.
Jan 2002 The
CO declares that the NEC have breached rules 17(a) (iii), 17(b)(iii) 17b)(vii).
He issues an enforcement order that the NEC progress my ultra vires appeal made
over 2 years earlier.
Meanwhile another Witch Hunt
starts up……..
May 2001 Leonie
Cooper, who has an entire website devoted to getting her elected to the NEC,
and gets MSF to put the address on the ballot paper, complains about my website
www.rogerlyons.com . For one day the site had one line
encouraging people to vote for Jane Stewart.
Leonie does not tell me of her complaint. Lyons forwards it to me.
I pass it to my branch for investigation as per rule 16 (c) "where
a complaint is made against a member the members branch shall
investigate".
Jun 2001 My
branch conduct an exemplary investigation by the rulebook. They dismiss the complaint and make no
recommendation for the NEC to act upon.
Jul 2001 Bob
Braddock halts my 2nd disciplinary hearing on the Mayor nominations before it
starts because of “the likelihood of future allegations from Mr Beaumont
regarding the fairness of the procedure”.
Aug 2001 Unbeknown
to me Braddock submits a complaint to Lyons about me. He does not tell me. MSF
do not tell me.
Aug 2001 (probably) A secret
investigation into the complaints is carried out by the General
Purposes and Finance Committee. Needless to say I am still not told of the
complaints or of the investigation, let alone asked any questions.
Sep 2001 Lucy
Anderson presents the secret investigation committee’s secret report to the
NEC. The NEC promptly agrees that the
issues raised were "acts against the interests of the union" and set
up a disciplinary panel.
15 Oct
2001 At last Lyons writes to me to
tell me a disciplinary has been set up.
He adds, presumably in some attempt at menace, "under rule
16(a)(ii) the NEC shall have the power to terminate the membership of any
member who in its opinion acts against the interests of the union". He concludes that in the next 10 days Paul
Talbot will tell me the complaints.
16 Oct 2001 The
very next day Lyons submits his own complaint about me to the NEC. He complains
that “the use of the name LYONSweb (on my website www.msfweb.org.uk ) is unacceptable
behavior within a trade union". He
also writes to my branch telling them they should not conduct the
investigation.
18 Oct 2001 The
disciplinary panel meets in secret to consider the complaints. I am not even told let alone invited. Apparently they decide to add another
complaint, about the use of the music 'If I were a rich man' on my website when
it was first set up. They say this was
designed to discriminate against Lyons on the grounds of race.
24 Oct 2001 Finally
I receive copies of the complaints and am told that my first disciplinary on
them has already happened without me!
The panel have already decided that ‘they believe the complaints are
legitimate’ and foolishly tell me so.
Nov 2001 I write to Talbot,
secretary of the disciplinary panel, pointing out that my
branch have decided to investigate, as clearly
stipulated in rule 16(c).
Dec 2001 My
branch write to the President of MSF who then writes to Lyons: "it is my
view that under rule the Branch must be asked to conduct an
investigation". I understand that
the NEC already have a legal opinion from 1997 saying the same thing. I have a copy of a High Court ruling of 12th
May 2000 (which MSF lost at great expense) clearly stating that the branch
shall investigate complaints.
Jan 2002 I
am told that I must attend a disciplinary on 21st February or they will
proceed in my
absence.
I fully expect to be
expelled from ‘Amicus’ at the NEC meeting at the end of February.
David Beaumont
Chair, Hounslow and Feltham branch (suspended)
Delegate to London Regional Council (suspended)
Ex treasurer London Regional Council (suspended)
Union member 1980-2002