Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Councillor Nilgun Canver found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice
A jury at Wood Green Crown Court today found Councillor Nilgun Canver guilty by a majority of ten to two after more than a day of deliberation.
Nilgun Canver was accused of lying to police after her son crashed the family’s car in Tottenham in January, 2013.
According to the Haringey Indy, before passing sentence, Judge Fraser Morrison said: “This was a short period of lunacy on your part and your good sense of judgement had parted from you.
“Perhaps you thought you were protecting your son but your attempts to pull the wool over the police officer’s eyes was short-lived and were doomed to fail, as you see now.”
Cllr Canver was sentenced to a conditional discharge of one year and was ordered to pay costs of £500 and a £15 victim surcharge. She was told by the judge, 'I don't suppose a court will ever be seeing you again.'
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ceri on
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I agree, and urge all to read this article.
Although I haven't been involved in this issue to date other than saying I was happy to give a character reference, I popped up to the court yesterday and ended up being in the court before and when the verdict was given. When the judge was handed the piece of paper before the jury came in (presumably with the verdict on) he gave a little smile. That's when I knew the news would be bad. (His instruction to the jury had been really narrow in my view, as he had told them to discount all the evidence other than the question was there an "intention" to pervert at the point of the lie being told, even though the lie was corrected only seconds later). But even after this narrow instruction more than two of them were not happy with a guilty verdict, and went on arguing for another day before presumably being convinced, with only two remaining as dissenters. After the jury were finally dismissed the judge asked Brendon Morris, the prosecuting barrister, if he had ten minutes to speak with him privately. I am advised that we can infer nothing from that, but I didn't like the look of it. He didn't ask to have a little word with the defence brief!
There's so much that's odd about this case, and further questions that need answers. It'll all come out in due course I believe, which is what makes the whole thing so absurd. I understand that the judge's "sentence" of discharge is not a sentence, and almost unprecedented for a charge of this seriousness, and just proves that the whole thing was a waste of taxpayers' money.
I also agree with Seema in her comments above. And I can report that, unlike some of the reports that state she cried, Nilgun remained calm and dignified during the verdict and afterwards. There may have been a tear in her eye - there were in many people's eyes at the stupid injustice of the whole thing. At least one of the jurors looked straight at me with a tear in her eye too.
Of course the outcome of no real sentence vindicates all those of us who believe that Nilgun's removal from the cabinet was wrong, and that the Labour party needs now to copiously apologise to her, and recompense her for missing income.
Given the CPS had twice said they didn't want to prosecute, and the only reason stated why they finally caved in to the police's appeal was that she was a local councillor, this case raises serious issues about our body politic. Does it make any of you want to volunteer to stand, given the possible outcome like this of even the slightest mistake? What a mess! And with real victims too.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Who was that Detective Chief Inspector? We all need to know who to avoid when dealing with the law.
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It was Detective Chief Inspector Paul Trevers.
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The article by Stephen Moore and Ceri's account from the Court indicates that Police / CPS / Haringey Council have to address a lot of questions, especially about how the charge was decided and the timing of the case. The incident was in January 2013, the prosecution of her son was concluded in the summer and the proceedings started much later.
I wonder if the prosecution had been brought at all if Nilgun had been a celebrity chef with Tory connections.
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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From reading that - and well done the Journal for doing some real journalism - it seems that only one charge was brought to the court, that of attempting to pervert the course of justice. But they could also have brought other charges, eg wasting police time, or obstructing a police officer, which would have given the jury a chance to convict on the latter if they were not convinced of the bigger offence. It must have been the CPS which decided on only that charge. As you say, there's something nasty in the woodshed here.
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It looks like between Sandra Looby leaving in January and Victor Olisa starting at the end of March we had no Borough Commander to take an interest in this case.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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As I understand it, Nilgun Canver should be offered reinstatement as a member of Haringey Labour Group. Although I suspect some of the Koberites might be unhappy about this.
Of course, having had a period outside, it's possible that Nilgun herself could be less than willing to descend once more into the dark shadows and dank stale air of the Labour Group. Would she, as Socrates suggested remember only too well ". . . what passed for wisdom there, with her fellow prisoners, and consider herself happy and them pitiable?"
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I'm in the fullest possible agreement with all of you. Foxy Kober should be extradited to Perugia to serve out her 28 years & 6 months. An underling, Ali Sollecito, has been picked up near the Harringay border to resume his 25 year stretch tomorrow. In a remarkably cross-gendered cross-numbered sentence, "We all need more help to become a better man", in this evening's Standard, David Lammy recounts his tortured years as he struggled to find time for his four-year old son in Harringay-Tottenham, now his eight-year old son in Stroud Green-WG & Hornsey (cue Violins: Dreams of My Father). He finally reaches the anguished conclusion that he must step down from Parliament and Politics with immediate effect to spend time with his family and to allow the Great Party time to find his successor. I have now nominated my neighbour Nilgun, who may well wish to spend less time with her family for five or ten years, as the best person to represent Tottenham at Westminster - unless of course David Schmitz has an opinion to the contrary.
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