• The Highways and Byways to the Citadel of Justice;

• Soaring with the ‘Eagles’;

• The Legal Eagle ~ Barrister, Mr. John Merlin Copplestone-Bruce
~ Inner Temple Bar (Life Member);

• The TPO ‘Determination’ ~ the Grounds of Appeal;

• The TPO unfit for Purpose
~ Exposes weaknesses to knowledgeable and determined attack;

• The Ulster Folk ;
~ The Ulster Folk ~ Days in Court;

• The LCFA Puppet ~ A TPO Mischief Maker
~ TPO Desperation sets in.

In continuing the narrative of the journey to seek Justice and once more … ‘finding a way or making one’… it was anticipated that from this point forward that disabled FSV~FMG and the Bugler would enter the First Citadel of Justice, the Ulster Courts with its Judicature; thence to the Second Citadel of Justice, the UK High Court with its Judiciary; and penultimately the Supreme Court; later, if necessary, entering the international Courts at the European Court of Justice(ECJ) which, in spite the UK leaving the EU, still reigns supreme because this UK injustice took place whilst it was a Member State of the EU.

In soaring with the ‘legal eagles’ disabled FSV~FMG, as a Litigant-in-Person(LIP) or pro se, for which there is a guidance booklet by Lord Dyson, Master of the Rolls 11 December 2012(which badly needs updating), Go Here ; and supported by the Bugler, as his McKenzie Friend(Man), Go Here ; both would be re-entering this arcane world with its own customs, practises, language, and ‘games’.

In their own way both journeymen by engaging throughout their working lives with perpetual attendances at Court in their professional capacity, and in particular complimented by the Bugler’s lifelong interest in the law, neither would feel vulnerable nor exposed on this familiar ground.

They had high expectations after having been exposed to the fatuous nonsense of a TPO propounding itself in deceit to be a ‘Court of Law’. The Bugler in particular looked forward to the experience, having regularly read the ‘Times’ legal reports for many years as an unusual ‘hobby’ by being exposed to consummate legal professionals, the highest in the land who really ought to know what they were doing.

If you wanted rescuing then we were it; if you want the impartial law and fair play then they should be it; but the spectre of the Manchester rogue, Circuit Court Judge ‘Nelson’ Butler, now prematurely retired, always hangs in the background…

The Bugler’s intellectual attraction was the hugely impressive and inspiring, demonstrated pragmatic legal skills which senior Judges’ applied to the law and its word by word detail, as a well thought through, step-by-step, fully reasoned logic arrived at a Judgment, which included the full application of the Law, and Justice when it was finally reached, win or lose.   

However, the Judicatures might prosaically bear in mind that Firefighters, by the nature of who they are and what they do, are far from stupid; they are extremely street wise in rapidly evaluating those whom they meet and greet, and they ‘visit’ every conceivable building and location some of which are extremely secret, so very little fazes them; which is all best summed up by the polite pragmatic fact that these Judges they would meet , no matter how high and mighty they consider themselves to be, would have the same bodily functions as themselves…and they sit down to….

Having a highly knowledgeable, accomplished, pro bono ‘Legal Eagle’ committed to the Rule of Law and the Sanctity of Justice, a raison d’etre, in the Bugler’s corner, namely retired Barrister Mr. John Merlin Copplestone-Bruce (JMCB), was advantage beyond measure, as the next part of this journey was to illustrate.

JMCB although severely disabled himself simply has an extraordinary mind. How do we recognise that? The measure of a ‘Legal Eagle’ mind is the ability to ‘pick up a brief’, establish the salient points of law, analyse them, and then breathtakingly race ahead to a correct legal conclusion…the Judgment always remains with the Court.

In this collective quest for Justice the Bugler et al, have since late 2011, been voluntarily assisted, pro bono, by JMCB an illustrious retired barrister who is a Member of the Inner Temple Bar, a life member, and thus because of this distinction he can continue to practice law in any manner he might choose.

Disabled after losing a lung to cancer 30 years ago at the height of his national prowess, but celebrating his 82^nd birthday recently, though a little dyslexic, and because he is a Barrister of distinction, JMCB is still able to give us written assistance when we request it, but is physically unable to represent us at court.

JMCB has been unstintingly generous with his professional skills and continues to legally guide our efforts. As you might expect he is highly regarded for his skills, knowledge, and generous spirit, particularly in pension disputes throughout the Fire Service, both for the retired, and current, in-Service, Firefighters.

Recently with his help the LCFA reluctantly accepted that the current ‘Day Crew Manning’ rota system is pensionable which they had vigorously, and as usual, mendaciously denied.The Pension Fund is in deficit to the tune of £7.5mil…now they must pay up, perhaps even taking fire engines off the streets of Lancashire to do so.

Having wandered the byways it is time once more to return to the Time Line on the hard road…

25. JMCB was, once more, asked to provide Advice regarding the TDPO’s ‘Determination’, in particular where the TDPO had failed in ‘Points of Law’ so that the Bugler et al could consider taking this supposed final ‘opinion’ to the Court of Appeal.

The Advice and the answers came swiftly…
N.B. disabled FSV~FMG is referred to as ‘Mr.N.’ , the last letter of his surname, by the TPO.

If ever there was an Opinion that explored in depth the ‘meanings of words’ in law, a discipline and ‘art’ form in which JMCB was especially skilled, having been taught this discipline during his pupillage many years ago, then this was it… read thoughtfully, dwell on it, and think about every nuance that is applied in this masterful extraordinary work…Go Here.

Elsewhere, primarily in Chapter 17 of ‘A Journey of Truth’, the Bugler has laid out the indictment and the evidence of malignant culpability by The Pensions Ombudsman’s organisation, both as individual Civil Servants, and in the collective.

The Verdict is in…

But first we should take a headline look at how much this luxury costs us the Taxpayers which at the end of the tax year in 2019 stood at just over £5million for 80 staff, £4.3 mil of which was for salaries, with an average salary at £53,750 plus a free pension and benefits.

What positive contribution do these 80 civil servants make to simple national wage earning pension savers with a pension problem? Answer ~ None!

Speaking of contributions, all these 80 staff are on a non-contributory Defined Benefit Pension Scheme(the best) in other words they get a free pension unlike thousands of Firefighters who paid/pay anywhere between 11%-15% per month of their salary over a lifetime of 30 years+.

Nice TPO non-work if you can get it…

The final verdict remains that this is a sordid government organisation which deliberately sets out with institutionalised calumny to mislead and defraud simple decent hardworking people who believed that they are being underpaid the emoluments due to them from their former employers the product of their hard working lives.

A life, an existence, in which they had no special privileges but which they accepted in sanguinity and trust would at the end of the day provide for them in their dignified old age, but the amorphous TPO was determined that that would not be so.

But the TPO is not an amorphous organisation, it consists of 80 individual Civil Servants who are given a free pension with benefits by us the Taxpayer the very people they set out to short change in Justice. But surely each of these individuals have a personal moral compass who individually and collectively choose to disregard their moral responsibilities to do down these innocent people which they know to be wrong.

However, for the moment, tomorrow’s supplicants and their McKenzie Friends who seek the succour of Justice should continue to challenge Mr. Arter the TPO, and Ms. Johnston his Deputy, but now prearmed with the knowledge of TPO ‘operations’ which the Bugler has revealed to them, and as we know, knowledge is power.

Thus imbued with the spirit of this knowledge, allied with wilful determination and hope, this Gateway to Justice which the TPO inadvertently provides can be forced as the Bugler has demonstrated.

Because by Statute law only Mr. Arter the Pension Ombudsman, or his Johnston his Deputy, must, will, ‘shall’ provide a ‘Determination’ which is the key to this Gateway to Justice; nothing or none of the other 68 staff matter, all the ‘games’, all the sneering timewasting, counts for nothing because the law requires that a ‘Determination’ shall be provided.

Although it is unlikely to be in the applicants’ favour this does not matter either because before them lies the open road to Justice which at this point has cost them little or nothing to get here bearing in mind we as Taxpayers have already paid for the TPO.

Of course the simple solution is to close TPO and then open a proper Pensions Court of Law with legally qualified support staff who actually and specifically know about pensions and the law…no Man can yet serve two, never mind three masters,…The TPO serves the government first, the pension ‘industry’ second, and the pensioner saver, never if they can help it.

There are other swifter more expensive routes to Justice but when you have no resources you only have time…all that is needed is ‘determination’ and hope and as we all know from our, at times, desperate work, Hope should be the last faith to die…

Now for a little retrospective byway as introduction to the Bugler’s engagement with the Judiciary at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast.

In 1963 standing opposite the Courts of Justice Chichester Street or ‘Chi’ as it was known in the Brigade song, ‘we are the boys of the BFB’, was the Belfast Fire Brigade HQ, its Training School, and the associated 5 bay station, ‘Alpha’. An imposing building in Edinburgh red sandstone with a huge watch tower looking out over the city.

The Bugler, Fireman Burns P., Regimental Number 392 was attached to a 56 hour week Blue Watch; then White Watch; then finally back to Blue…one of 5 Nationalists out of 350 Firemen… The Watch was enormous consisting of 30 personnel under a Watch Commander, a Station Officer, his 4 Sub-Officers, and their 4 Leading Firemen, or leading hands, and the other ranks…there are many tales to tell but not right now…suffice to say that the star of this piece is a lamppost…

As time and the Bugler progressed he became a Turntable Ladder operator for a Dennis, straight 8,  Rolls Royce engined, Belgian Metz TLP(now look that one up?) with a 125 foot monster ladder exceeded only by a 150ft ladder with the Leeds FB. Probably the largest ladder in the Europe and perhaps the world when the norm’ was 100ft.

The piece de resistance for official visitors was for the TLP to be driven into the drill yard at speed all blues and twos going; then a dash to a temporary step up stirrup with a piece of self rescue gear called a Longworth escape; hook it to the ladder head and then swiftly fully elevating and extending the ladder to maximum effect.

A running climb then followed up about 7 floors high, in the Bugler’s best No:1 undress uniform, as the ladder increasingly whipped back and forth to the platform head, a quick glance over to Scotland(The Rhinns of Galloway) and then having secured the Longworth strop to self a very careful climb outside to the underside of the ladder being extremely careful, not to get any grease on the uniform, and then arms akimbo in the best ‘Geronimo’ tradition it was into space, the initial drop was the tricky part for the underwear, but it was the ‘man in the big picture’ nonchalantly all the way down to rapturous applause…now about ‘ealth and safety…what?

Now to the lamppost. The skilled part , as ever, in all this pantomime was the timing of getting this large appliance out of the narrow doors which were designed for clattering horses and steamers because directly opposite the bay was the lamppost and a glance at the picture confirms that the monitor(nozzle) was spring loaded to the horizontally(to spear) so timing was all.

Suffice to say this entailed a violent L/R manoeuvre which regularly and embarrassingly dumped the ladder man into the middle of the street, much to the astonished amusement of the passing public, including the Bugler, from the ‘cubby hole’ at the back of the cab…

Aaah, Dear Reader, you thought the Bugler hit the lamppost, but neither the Bugler nor his colleagues ever hit the lamppost and as tribute to their skills there it still stands today 55 years on in front of this magnificent, but rather sinister building, the Royal Courts of Justice which the Bugler had until this time never entered…

N.B.Sorry about the state of the Rochdale appliance but it was Rochdale after all…

26. Prior to Autumn 2019 the Bugler moved back to his homeland Ireland after 55 years in England.

The TPO advised in its ‘advice note’ that it was possible to lodge an Appeal on a Point(s) of Law at the Royal Courts of Justice in Chichester Street Belfast in a single stage process unlike the two stage process required in England where the Judicature has put an additional hurdle in its due process which requires, permission to Appeal, before moving to the Appeal stage.

The judicial policy states that if a case is allowed to go to Appeal then the prospects for success must exist in the Point(s) of Law to be examined, though even a refusal is not necessarily the end of the matter.

Permission to Appeal, which does not exist in a very law sensitive Northern Ireland, was according to Sir Paul Maguire, the senior  High Court Judge in Belfast, introduced in England  to stop people with more money than sense from suing everybody about everything in sight, to prevent clogging up the Courts, and wasting of everyone’s time.

Having cleared security the Bugler was directed to the Central Office in the charge of a most helpful Englishman who with his equally helpful colleague Christy Byers proffered endless forms, helpful advice, and encouraging thoughts on how the procedure operated to get the required 400-500 page case file(bundle) lodged which was to be placed before a Judge; all of which ultimately cost £240.0., paid over at the Registry Office where it was ‘sealed’, receiving a stamp  and its magic Court Case Number.

In the weeks that followed until conclusion at Belfast the Bugler attended the High Court as FSV~FMG’s McKenzie Friend on 3 occasions, once before the Belfast Recorder, and twice before LJ Maguire.

The LCFA made no representative appearance at the first hearing; but suddenly woke up for the second and third employing a rather expensive local solicitors and a local young double First Cambridge graduate barrister Ms.Anna Rowan BL who appeared to specialise in representing companies with large money problems; all in spite of the LCFA already having 2 solicitors working for them.

Before the second hearing, and legally late which the Bugler challenged, because there is a 48 hour Judicature rule of ‘non-ambush’ which they breached, the LCFA served notice by Application and sworn Affadavitt of a contest; a rather forlorn hastily prepared poor quality Application alleging that disabled FSV~FMG was out of jurisdiction within Northern Ireland, which is apparently still constitutionally part of the United Kingdom, and that he was being ‘frivolous’.

Specifically this Application was wrong in Paras 17 & 18 under existing EU law.

The Bugler was sure the disabled FSVs, FS Widows, and Beneficiaries did not think it was ‘frivolous’. Go Here.

But before then it is worth considering that the LCFA had three Court opportunities to present a detailed defence against their failure to pay disabled FSV~FMG his correct pensions; a first hearings at which the LCFA did not appear; a second at which Counsel Rowan presented nothing, only deciding the next hearing date, so the LCFA were clearly caught flatfooted without any form of response which in fairness is not attributable to Counsel Rowan or the firm of Solicitors, but the legal incompetence of the LCFA solicitors.

So the date was set for the big day 17^th October 2019 before LJ Maguire with special provisions for the Bugler’s hearing and of course disabled FSV~FMG attendance was required.

The thrust of the LCFA defence was that the action was out of jurisdiction, with the striking out of the entire case thrown in for good measure, in the vain hope the FSV~FMG’s pension case could be completely derailed. But if one thinks about this the LCFA could not have both. If it is out of Jurisdiction then the pension case still stands and if it was in jurisdiction then the case would be heard in Belfast out of the control of the ‘Lamplighters’, so for the LCFA it was a lose-lose situation.

On the 3^rd and final day hearing which lasted 1 ¾ hour Counsel Rowan for the LCFA arrived early and decamped herself to the Bar Library; the Bugler concluded that this was a good sign, a rather ‘look down in desperation’ moment and in addition in Court she looked distinctly uneasy appearing to swallow a lot and making the skimpiest of notes.

The only question the Bugler needed to address was whether Counsel Rowan actually knew anything about pensions and Fire Service Pension schemes in particular? She did not.

In his opening remarks LJ Maguire exhibited his profound honesty with a refreshing candour, an attitude which he retained throughout the hearing. He stated he had had the bundle for some 6 weeks or more and was very au fait with its technically interesting and challenging contents and that he had read any locally available books on the jurisdiction question and furthermore he had consulted colleagues and would hear arguments about jurisdiction which would lead, or not, to his hearing of the pension case.

In outlining the law and in particular focusing on the two Pension Acts one national, and one for NIreland, the Bugler felt at an early point  that the Court was going off at a tangent and offered to share his pension knowledge with the Court if they thought it was appropriate, in effect to grant the Bugler ‘audience’, which de facto LJ Maguire consequentially did, frequently expressing his thanks to the Bugler for the sharing of that knowledge.

In opening for the LCFA Counsel Rowan propounded arguments based on jurisdiction/territoriality whilst ignoring the pension case in totality. After listening LJ Maguire remarked that he had a pension from Queens University Belfast, where he formerly taught law, but it was administered in London, to which Counsel Rowan  expressed no riposte. LJ Maguire continued remarking in the light of this he did not think her arguments bore particular merit.

Counsel Rowan had in her possession from the Bugler legal documents outlining the EU law on Court jurisdiction provided by JMCB which addressed this very question of jurisdiction. In fact of law Belfast did have jurisdiction, but Counsel Rowan failed to pass on that information to the Court which she has a Bar duty to do, particularly when faced with a Litigant-in-Person whose rights in law, as an Officer of the Court, Counsel Rowan she has a duty to protect even though that information is detrimental to her client the LCFA.

Such failure to act can result in disbarment…

Counsel Rowan propounded further arguments on the structure of pension schemes in England which simply demonstrated her complete ignorance of UK pension schemes and law and a long harmonious technical dialogue then ensued between the Bugler and LJ Maguire concluding, and further repeated later by LJ Maguire expressing the Courts gratitude to the Bugler for the sharing of his knowledge. Apparently in the ‘trade’ this is known as being a ‘friend’ to the Court.

Then quite out of context Counsel Rowan leaped to her feet and in an unseemly outburst, objected most strongly to the amount of time the Judge was granting the Bugler ‘audience’, further remarking that the Bugler was not qualified in law, he did not represent anyone, nor anything…

 LJ Maguire rather coolly  indicated he had no intention of making a ruling whether or not, or to whom, he might grant the ‘right of audience’ in his Court and Counsel Rowan sat down in high dudgeon.

The Bugler suggests it is never a good idea, in career terms, for any junior Counsel in the High Court to challenge a sitting Judge in his own Court on such matters…

LG Maguire after expressing grave misgiving about jurisdiction and Counsel Rowan having signally failed to alert him to the EU law which she had in her possession, gave Judgement for the LCFA but remarked several times, that after having studied the bundle in detail for 6 weeks he believed that disabled FSV~FMG’s pension case was “winnable” and that it would be best to take his complaint forward to the High Court of Appeal in England.

With some alacrity, as one might expect, Counsel Rowan rose and sought costs against disabled FSV~FMG.

LJ Maguire asked the Bugler for his thoughts on the matter.

The Bugler briefly explained their collective financial circumstances set against their quest for Justice especially for those whom he represented and appealed for clemency in the matter of costs.

Turning to the disabled FSV~FMG LJ Maguire asked him about his personal circumstances and LJ Maguire consequently stated that he had no intention of awarding an Order for costs to anyone in this matter.

It is the Bugler’s view that had Counsel Rowan conducted herself in the professional manner she is required to in Court, in particular by sharing the knowledge of the applicable EU which she had in her possession and which she is required to put to the Court even though and in particular the fact that it would be detrimental to her clients the LCFA this Court hearing would have gone the other way and as a consequence of the Judge’s expressed view(several times) that the pension case was “winnable” disabled FSV~FMG would have been successful with his pension case at that stage.

Regardless of the result, the Bugler and FSV~FMG felt they had both been treated with extreme courtesy, honesty, and Justice by Sir Paul Maguire and his Court Staff.

What impact this will have had have had, because barristers in the High Court do not come cheap, on the already stretched finances of the LCFA will no doubt be reported in the LCFA annual financial accounts ending March 2019/2020…for the Judgment, Go Here.

27. On the 20^th February 2020 the LCFA having recovered from the expensive debacle in Belfast and with disabled FSV~FMG pension case having not been derailed and chuffing along splendidly desperate situations required desperate solutions.

In getting their heads together, Mr.Arter at the TPO and Warren at the LCFA, the only remedy they could jointly come up with was to find a weakness in the Bugler’s strategy and once more, and finally as it transpired, use that old trick of Strachan’s time barring , indeed it was probably his idea.

The problem was the Bugler at the very beginning had anticipated that an unimaginative Strachan would use this illegal trick time and again, and he did, or at least he tried to.

The next nominee to try and pull off this stunt, once more at the TPO, was a David Craddock a recently arrived solicitor with a whole qualifying 4 years of experience who in nothing more or less than a pure confidence trickster and describing himself as a ‘Senior Counsel’ which is actually known in the ‘trade’ as a ‘Queens Counsel’ which he is not, though he wrote a carefully thought through confidence scam to the Judge (unknown at that time) of the Chancery Court of Appeal.

Indeed Craddock and his ‘jonny come lately’ comrade filled in a piece of self fulfilling paper certifying each other that they were qualified to and had been granted advocacy in the High Court. A distinction rarely awarded by the Lord Chief Justice and only to only those of exceptional merit. One wonders if these two jolly lads were not ‘Essex Lads’, they fit the profile?

Nevertheless to their dubious credit they did mislead a junior Judge in the Chancery High Court into wasting considerable Court time, by this Contempt of Court, which had this Judge wasting two thirds of the Judgement on this very question of time barring  alone, which anyone with any degree of nous, an old hand, would have known immediately what TPO’s ‘game’ was, which was spoiling and mischief making.

However it was useful to have the Court’s confirmation that, as the Bugler knew, disabled FSV~FMG pension case was not, even in due process, time barred.

One must of course recognise the complex, slithery, seeping nature of this letter as is wormed its way under the Court door which a handwringing Uriah Heap would be proud of…Go Here.

Another fascinating development occurred in the last week at TPO where Mr. Arter, ever the artful headline chaser, in preservation of his multiple incomes, announced his ‘Determination’ that a certain Mr.Stuart Garner owner of Norton Motorcycles, was ordered to pay back £14mil to 3 pension schemes after, according to Mr.Arter, Garner had acted dishonestly; perhaps it takes one to know one?

The Labour M.P., and new Chair of the Department of Works and Pensions Select Committee Rt Hon Mt Timms has questioned the role of The Pension Regulator(TPR) in protecting savers from similar scams. Mr. Timms said this Norton case “raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the regulators involved and the protections we have for people who fall victim to scams”. Not before time…

Perhaps Mr. Timms might care look at correspondence in the DWP Select Committee archives from the Bugler who repeatedly reported the LCFA for criminality affecting his Pension Scheme to his forbear Mr.Field and to TPR?

Now if Mr. Timms is serious about scams he should look at a scam which has taken place right under his nose between the impudently complicit bosses of TPR and TPO.

Why did the enforcing authority TPR under Mr. Counsell CEO, with the legal powers to enforce the necessary sanctions against Mr.Garner, sideline a very accomplished in-house Enforcer in the person of Nicola Parish, someone who had done all the donkey work?

A Regulations ‘enforcer’ whom the criminals of the pension ‘industry’ actually fear, and who ought to be the CEO of TPR to give it some back bone?

And why did Mr. Counsell neatly and complicitly side foot this handy criminality to Mr. Arter TPO whilst knowing full well that TPO in spite of this ‘Determination’ has not a single line of Statute which provides for Mr. Arter and the TPO to enforce any ‘Determination’?

Mr.Garner can with impunity(which seems to be catching) simply ignore this so called ‘order’ because it has no ‘authority’ in law whatsoever.

The answer to this puzzle is as plain as a pike staff. TPR and TPO and in particular Mr.Arter have accountability problems and this ‘headline’ generating life ring tossed to him by his chum Counsell at TPR might just save his professional bacon.

Now there Mr. Timms is a scandalous ‘scam’ by two complicit government departments under your accountability control which is worth looking into for starters…is it not?