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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2012}}
Norman Scarth, a war veteran, has achieved a certain notoriety arising from his tussles with the legal establishment. He has tried repeatedly to win unlikely cases, and in consequence has a cult following. He has been at the wrong end of severely worded judgments in various courts .
{{COI|date=April 2012}}

'''Norman Scarth''' is a [[UK|British]] [[World War II]] veteran, political candidate, former farmer, and [[blog]]ger. He has unsuccessfully stood for Parliament three times, and has been at the centre of controversy in several legal cases.

==Military service==
Scarth served on ''[[HMS Matchless (G52)|HMS Matchless]]'' in the [[Arctic convoys of World War II]], receiving a medal from the Russian government in 1995.<ref name=founder>{{cite news|url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1542436.founder_of_anticrime_party_given_ticking_off/|title=Founder of Anti-Crime Party given ticking off|date=13 July 2007|work=The Northern Echo|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref><ref name=chainsaw/>

==Farming==
Scarth was a stud farmer. His horse Gracious Melody won the 1979/80 Henry Tudor Challenge Cup.<ref>Country life, Volume 169, 1981</ref>

==Elections==
He has been a candidate three times in [[Elections in the United Kingdom|UK parliamentary elections]] - in 1997 at [[Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Chesterfield]] (receiving 202 votes), in 2007 at [[Sedgefield by-election, 2007|Sedgefield]] and in 2008 at [[Haltemprice and Howden by-election, 2008|Haltemprice and Howden]]. In Sedgefield, police were called to move him when he campaigned outside a supermarket.<ref name=founder/> In Haltemprice and Howden he came joint last with 8 votes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7498330.stm|title=A record-breaking by-election?|date=11 July 2008|work=BBC News|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref> He stood on an anti-crime platform and argued that "modern surveillance methods were as bad as the Nazis'".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jul/11/haltemprice.daviddavis?INTCMP=SRCH|title=David Davis surprises critics with relatively high turnout|last=Wainwright|first=Martin|date=11 July 2008|work=The Guardian|accessdate=21 November 2011|location=London}}</ref>

Scarth has also stood for his own Anti-Crime Party in local elections in Bradford, first standing in [[Bingley]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/1316820.print/|title=Election hopefuls line up for ballot|last=Winrow|first=Jo|date=9 April 2007|work=Telegraph & Argus|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref> He was arrested for shouting through a loudhailer outside a polling station in 2008, and challenged the election result, in which he received 66 votes, with the election commissioner.<ref name=loudhailer>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4348072.Candidate____shouted_abuse_with_loudhailer___/|title=Candidate ‘shouted abuse with loudhailer’|date=6 May 2009|work=Telegraph & Argus|accessdate=21 November 2011|location=Bradford}}</ref> A judged ruled that his case was "wholly misconceived".<ref name=brands>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4351898.Judge_brands_candidate__a_crazed_old_man_/|title=Judge brands candidate 'a crazed old man'|last=Winrow|first=Jo|date=8 May 2009|work=Telegraph & Argus|accessdate=21 November 2011|location=Bradford}}</ref>

==Legal matters==
In 1990, Scarth argued that he was not wearing a seat belt because he was about to commit suicide, but his defence was not accepted by the court.<ref>Yorkshire Evening Post, cited in New statesman Society, volume 3, 1990.</ref>

Scarth was the plaintiff in the case ''Scarth v. United Kingdom'' at the [[European Court of Human Rights]] (ECHR 33745/96) that resolved that private [[Hearing (law)|hearings]] in small claims arbitration at [[county court]]s breached [[Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref>{{cite book|editor=C. E. F. Rickett, Thomas G. W. Telfer|title=International perspectives on consumers' access to justice|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DK1RLMwCQ5UC&pg=PA181|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-82432-X|page=181}}</ref> [[Civil Procedure Rules]] introduced in 1999 avoided further breaches.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gazette Committee of Ministers|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PjH3_0KYqVEC&pg=PA15|volume=IV / 2000|date=April 2000|publisher=Council of Europe|isbn=92-871-4308-0|page=15}}</ref>

In 2001 Scarth was sentenced to six years in jail for wounding a court bailiff with a chainsaw with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm.<ref name=chainsaw>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/six_years_for_chainsaw_pensioner_1_2064093|title=Six years for chainsaw pensioner|date=23 June 2001|work=Yorkshire Evening Post|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref> He spent four years in jail and two years in a psychiatric hospital, which he says was part of a conspiracy against him.<ref name=loudhailer/><ref name=brands/>

In July 2011, Scarth, who represented himself, was sentenced to six months imprisonment for [[Contempt of court#Criminal contempt of court|contempt of court]] for recording a court hearing and for "contempt for all lawyers and judges".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-14680180 | work=BBC News | title=Bradford court contempt man, 85, legally jailed | date=26 August 2011}}</ref><ref>http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/bradford_man_85_fails_in_jail_bid_1_3718522</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/bradford_ww2_veteran_fails_in_jail_release_bid_1_3718480|title=Bradford WW2 veteran fails in jail release bid|date=26 August 2011|work=Yorkshire Post|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref> In September an appeals court reduced the sentence to 12 weeks less one day and he was immediately released. [[Christopher Pitchford|Lord Justice Pitchford]] stated: "Having had the benefit of information about the background, which was not available to the judge and could not have been since Mr Scarth refused to take part, we are quite satisfied that the public interest is not served by the continued imprisonment of this 85-year-old man without in any way reflecting upon the correctness of the decision made by the judge at the time", adding, "He is an unusual individual in that the nature of his personality disorder means that he is not one of those who is likely to see the error of his ways and, to use technical language, purge his contempt."<ref>{{cite news|title=OAP who recorded court case freed|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/oap-who-recorded-court-case-freed-16047511.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|date=9 September 2011}}</ref><ref name=freed>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-14854070|title=Norman Scarth freed as Bradford contempt sentence cut|date=9 September 2011|work=BBC News|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://normanscarth.blogspot.com/}}
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-europe-16265665 How Germany's feared Scharnhorst ship was sunk in WWII - BBC interview with Scarth]
*Election material: [http://by-elections.co.uk/haltemprice/Scarth.html Haltemprice and Howden], [http://www.by-elections.co.uk/sedgefield/Scarth.html Sedgefield]
* {{Wayback |date=20090507195933 |url=http://www.anticrimeparty.com/ |title=www.anticrimeparty.com }}
* {{Wayback |date=20090612125531 |url=http://www.normanscarth.com/ |title=www.normanscarth.com }}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Scarth, Norman
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British politician
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1925
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarth, Norman}}
[[Category:English bloggers]]
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:People from Bradford]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:English people convicted of assault]]
[[Category:British political candidates]]
[[Category:British politicians convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Independent politicians in England]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English farmers]]

Revision as of 23:37, 22 May 2015

Norman Scarth is a British World War II veteran, political candidate, former farmer, and blogger. He has unsuccessfully stood for Parliament three times, and has been at the centre of controversy in several legal cases.

Military service

Scarth served on HMS Matchless in the Arctic convoys of World War II, receiving a medal from the Russian government in 1995.[1][2]

Farming

Scarth was a stud farmer. His horse Gracious Melody won the 1979/80 Henry Tudor Challenge Cup.[3]

Elections

He has been a candidate three times in UK parliamentary elections - in 1997 at Chesterfield (receiving 202 votes), in 2007 at Sedgefield and in 2008 at Haltemprice and Howden. In Sedgefield, police were called to move him when he campaigned outside a supermarket.[1] In Haltemprice and Howden he came joint last with 8 votes.[4] He stood on an anti-crime platform and argued that "modern surveillance methods were as bad as the Nazis'".[5]

Scarth has also stood for his own Anti-Crime Party in local elections in Bradford, first standing in Bingley in 2007.[6] He was arrested for shouting through a loudhailer outside a polling station in 2008, and challenged the election result, in which he received 66 votes, with the election commissioner.[7] A judged ruled that his case was "wholly misconceived".[8]

In 1990, Scarth argued that he was not wearing a seat belt because he was about to commit suicide, but his defence was not accepted by the court.[9]

Scarth was the plaintiff in the case Scarth v. United Kingdom at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR 33745/96) that resolved that private hearings in small claims arbitration at county courts breached Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.[10] Civil Procedure Rules introduced in 1999 avoided further breaches.[11]

In 2001 Scarth was sentenced to six years in jail for wounding a court bailiff with a chainsaw with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm.[2] He spent four years in jail and two years in a psychiatric hospital, which he says was part of a conspiracy against him.[7][8]

In July 2011, Scarth, who represented himself, was sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court for recording a court hearing and for "contempt for all lawyers and judges".[12][13][14] In September an appeals court reduced the sentence to 12 weeks less one day and he was immediately released. Lord Justice Pitchford stated: "Having had the benefit of information about the background, which was not available to the judge and could not have been since Mr Scarth refused to take part, we are quite satisfied that the public interest is not served by the continued imprisonment of this 85-year-old man without in any way reflecting upon the correctness of the decision made by the judge at the time", adding, "He is an unusual individual in that the nature of his personality disorder means that he is not one of those who is likely to see the error of his ways and, to use technical language, purge his contempt."[15][16]

References

  1. ^ a b "Founder of Anti-Crime Party given ticking off". The Northern Echo. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Six years for chainsaw pensioner". Yorkshire Evening Post. 23 June 2001. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  3. ^ Country life, Volume 169, 1981
  4. ^ "A record-breaking by-election?". BBC News. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  5. ^ Wainwright, Martin (11 July 2008). "David Davis surprises critics with relatively high turnout". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  6. ^ Winrow, Jo (9 April 2007). "Election hopefuls line up for ballot". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Candidate 'shouted abuse with loudhailer'". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  8. ^ a b Winrow, Jo (8 May 2009). "Judge brands candidate 'a crazed old man'". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  9. ^ Yorkshire Evening Post, cited in New statesman Society, volume 3, 1990.
  10. ^ C. E. F. Rickett, Thomas G. W. Telfer, ed. (2003). International perspectives on consumers' access to justice. Cambridge University Press. p. 181. ISBN 0-521-82432-X.
  11. ^ Gazette Committee of Ministers. Vol. IV / 2000. Council of Europe. April 2000. p. 15. ISBN 92-871-4308-0.
  12. ^ "Bradford court contempt man, 85, legally jailed". BBC News. 26 August 2011.
  13. ^ http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/bradford_man_85_fails_in_jail_bid_1_3718522
  14. ^ "Bradford WW2 veteran fails in jail release bid". Yorkshire Post. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  15. ^ "OAP who recorded court case freed". Belfast Telegraph. 9 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Norman Scarth freed as Bradford contempt sentence cut". BBC News. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.

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