Latest News : Arrested

Maurice Not Guilty Verdict

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:36:00 GMT

News just in that Maurice has been freed by a majority not guilty verdict. The jury fully acquitted Maurice on all charges at Cardiff Crown Court today. He's currently being processed and will be released shortly.

More information will be posted as soon as we hear more.

Remanded in Cardiff Prison Until December

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:24:00 GMT

Maurice has been remanded to Cardiff prison until 4/12/09 when he will be heard by another judge over his fitness to plead.

Cardiff Crown Court Demonstration

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:06:00 GMT

Police have said they will arrest anyone who demonstrates outside Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday 1st October where Maurice Kirk is due to appear to decide whether or not to detain him indefinitly under psychiatric observation.

Court Transcripts

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:48:00 GMT

Transcripts of Maurice's numerous court appearances at Cardiff Crown are now available in the download section. Please click here.

These cover proceedings from 25th June to 30th July regarding his arrest and incarceration just prior to him about to take South Wales Police to court over long term harrassment.

Further transcripts are due to be sent over and uploaded.

19th Day on Hungerstrike

admin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:38:00 GMT

Maurice Kirk rang at 3.15pm today (2 August 2009) from the Hospital Wing of Cardiff Prison, as he was transferred there on 29 July 2009. Maurice said that he was assessed by psychiatrist Dr Gaynor Jones for two hours on Friday 31 July 2009. “It was a gruelling session, mentally and physically” he said. Maurice also relayed that he is in a lot of pain and finding it difficult to walk now. Maurice would not be persuaded to abandon his hunger strike.

The Glamorgan GEM - Friday, 31 July 2009

Flying Vet on hunger strike

www.barry-today.co.uk/.../news.cfm

Serious Developments

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:47:00 GMT

The latest news is that Maurice refused to appear at his bail hearing yesterday, because the court refused him Habeas Corpus (his right to appear in court in person to defend himself against the law). Instead they would have only allowed him to appear via video link. As a result of his unwillingness to attend the hearing, the judge ordered him to be psychiatrically examined.

Maurice is being held in solitary confinement at present and he belives that after having the examination yesterday, they are going to have him sectioned to remove his right to make judgments on his own behalf.

In response to this he has begun a hunger strike.

Maurice Unwell

admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:50:00 GMT

Hello,

I am rather late in writing as I have spent the evening composing letters to Rt Hon J Smith, MP re Maurice’s treatment and to my “point of contact” at South Wales Police requesting a list of articles removed from my house on 22 June and complaining about lack of adherence to correct procedures during a two day long search here.

I understand that Maurice’s hearing will be via video link which is a great pity as it will not afford the judge an opportunity to see how very unwell Maurice is, evident by his appearance. He continues to suffer almost constant pain owing to his extensive arthritis, unhealed pelvic fracture and intestinal pain. He really should not be held in prison awaiting trial. Considering his age and health, it is inhuman and disproportionate to his alleged crime. This evening he sounded very tired having spent the afternoon with psychiatrists. This is worrying bearing in mind the line of questioning to which I was subjected on 22 June. However, I take heart from my image of the psychiatrists who spent the afternoon with Maurice needing at least counselling by their own personal psychiatrists.

My friends from overseas are shocked (as shocked as I was) to learn the extent of police powers here. Few people realise that a warrant is unnecessary to search one’s house.

Kirstie

Prison Letters and a Call to Jury Service

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:12:00 GMT

A couple of letters from Maurice landed on our mat this week franked with HM Prison Service stamps. That's a first for us. What's ironic is that amongst Her Majesty's post was a letter calling upon one of us to do jury service. Should we state on the return form that we work for Maurice on a professional basis, do you think?

In the letters Maurice has been busy outlining, in his own indomitable way, events leading to his current predicament. Unfortunately, his hand writing is a tad hard to decipher and we've not had time to translate it to type, I dare say it would take us a week to unpick. So we've scanned the most legible and put them up for reading which for the most part just about works...

Download Timeline Letter here

Download Other Prison Letters here

One document is a timeline of events from 1916 to present, yes that's right 1916. As far as we were aware, it was to be a precise blow by blow account of events since his arrest this month, except it also includes a historical prologue about a replica DH2 war plane and a string of pages concerning his engagements with the Police and other authorities prior to the present day. For your information pages 7-9 provide the background details to the arrest.

The other document contains three shorter letters providing more information over the circumstances of the arrest and his situation in Cardiff Prison.

Inside with Maurice's letters was a letter from another inmate for us to forward on; we assume this was to save on the cost of stamps or maybe they are suffering a shortage, since taking Maurice in. We do know that Maurice has been making a lot of new friends on the inside. The website is picking up quite a following from friends and family of inmates. If you're visiting the site after hearing about Maurice from someone in the prison, hello and welcome! Please don't be alarmed by anything you read here, your associates are quite safe. Although we do urge you to convey to those inside the prison to please refrain from encouraging Maurice's natural urge to form an escape party or to join it, should he succeed. He currently does not have a pilot's license to fly the matchstick microlite he's building under his bed and by which he intends to gain freedom.

We recently received a couple of phone calls informing us that Maurice has been given a bail application form for a hearing next Monday. This indicates a change of direction, since it was earlier understood that Maurice would remain in prison with no opportunity to influence his circumstances until a jury case, to be held at the end of the year.

We also have a copy of the summary of evidence against Maurice. It seems that by and large the contents of this website form the main plank of the CPS case and the fact that he won't go away and do as he's told, says 'inappropriate' things, might be of unsound mind (and/or an alcoholic) and on the testimony of a certain undercover cop code-named 'Foxy' who covertly asserted that at one time he owned a live WW1 era machine gun or "lethal barrelled weapon" before he sold it to the RAF over a year ago. Lastly, various experts have been employed to sign bits of paper that confirm all the worst suspicions.

It sounds as if a considerable amount of resources have been invested in making sure Maurice goes down, and we must admit that he's undoubtedly provided the ‘ammunition' for them to succeed. What's odd is that most of the evidence is rather old having been in the public domain (on this website) for ages (see blog/picture archive).

So why now has all this come to light? Was it really to do with an impending court case against the South Wales Police for harassment, we asked ourselves? If this were true it would either mean that there's some truth to Maurice's argument or the legal system is totally incapable of dealing with his accusations. It could well be that the Police genuinely believe that Maurice is a dangerous man who needs to be taken off the street. But having known and worked with Maurice for more than a decade at best, such a thing seems unlikely and at worst it looks like a convenient excuse to discredit and beat him down with.

Ultimately the charges come down to owning a firearm, whether working or not, without a proper license and we doubt Maurice would ultimately deny the technical fact of the charge. What is open to question are the motives behind the charges being applied at a particular point in time, just prior to a court case involving the South Wales Police. That is the most worrying element whether you sympathise with Maurice or not.

Maurice's official reply to all this was recorded as "I think it's rediculous" (SIC)

30lb Lighter

Kirstie Kirk — Mon, 19 May 2008 09:27:00 GMT

Hello

I was correct. M did stop eating while at the Houston Deportation Centre and has returned some 30lb lighter than he set off. He always loses weight when he does an appreciable amount of flying (so much flying to do, so little time to eat...) but 30lb in a short time is rather excessive and he looks positively scrawny. Last Saturday found us in casualty as he was so unwell. He was discharged to rest, drink lots of water and eat small light meals - he has done none of these and is now having difficulty in eating at all. However, little changes and pale, wan and thin as he is he has started to tackle the CAA in an effort to have his licences restored.

I gather from the FCO that Houston Deportation Centre described M as being difficult to deal with ....(not so easy to live with sometimes).

KK (M's wife)

Heading Home to the UK

Kirstie Kirk — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:34:00 GMT

Hello

Have received some encouraging news from FCO this afternoon (Thurs.). M is expected to be home soon.

I have had no opportunity to speak to him but I gather that he has telephoned friends in Texas. I am told that he does not sound too well. I was probably correct in my assumption that he would stop eating in a protest re his predicament.

Let's see what tomorrow brings. The next post may be by M.

KK (M's wife)