The Wardman Wire

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That may sound like a weird request, but if you have got a till receipt with a legible VAT number from Durham Cathedral shop I want a copy for a very good reason indeed. This is about the chain of bookshops that used to be owned by SPCK:

We have been looking for information to throw light on the history of the underlying changes going on in the Society of Saint Stephen the Great, and the cluster of charities and companies that J Mark and Phil Brewer have set up around it.

One of the things we are audit trailing as closely as we can are the VAT numbers in use in different places at different times as recorded on the public record - which in this case consists of till receipts. Till receipts with VAT numbers are legal documents of record within the UK Tax and Accounting systems (which is why you can use them to prove expenses claims of course).

If it is of any value, I will acknowledge your blog on this site in return for any receipts received. A photo with an email of authentication is sufficient.

For a bit more background, read my post from yesterday:

Durham Cathedral Shop Finances and questionable Saint Stephen the Great payments

Then read about why we need those receipts.

Last week I posted about the plight of Durham Cathedral Bookshop.

Today there is an article about it in the Northern Echo Newspaper. The article features the petition we started a few weeks ago, which now has more than 300 signatures.

More about the SPCK/SSG case:

• Analysis of the Mark Brewer / bplaw.com Sanctions Motion and the Response.
• 20,000 page views a month for the SPCK News Blog.
• Adverts for Jobseekers and Vacancies
• An SSG Employment Tribunal case study will be published at lunchtime.

My weekly SPCK roundup should be out sometime on Saturday morning. This is just a summary.

I hear from Phil Groom that the application to make the UK charity Society of Saint Stephen the Great bankrupt at the United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Texas in Houston has been Dismissed with Prejudice:

Thanks to Rigorist for this update, posted August 29, 2008 at 12:11 am:

I just checked the US court system’s PACER service this afternoon (it is still afternoon on this side of the Atlantic). The bankrupcty case was dismissed at today’s hearing on the trustee’s motion.

The actual docket entry is as follows:

“Courtroom Minutes. Time Hearing Held: 11:00 am. Appearances: Mark Brewer for debtor; Randy Williams for Trustee. (Related document(s): 24 Chapter 7 Trustee’s Motion to Dismiss Case). Ellen Hickman present. Mr. Williams addressed the Court regarding the motion to dismiss. Arguments were heard by opposing parties. The Court announced its findings and dismissed the case with prejudice. (rsmi) (Entered: 08/28/2008)”

A written order with more explanation may follow, but as of right now, the bankruptcy case is dismissed.

This means that the Society of Saint Stephen the Great, a UK Charity, has been recognised (at this stage, by this Court) as not being able to be liquidated under US Bankruptcy Laws.

The “With Prejudice” dismissal means that the case is dismissed for good reason and the plaintiff is barred from bringing an action on the same claim. I can’t comment on what is possible in other courts, however.

Dave Walker was not alone. Two other bloggers who have gone public with their Cease and Desists from Mark Brewer

In my opinion Dave Walker’s posts have been a careful reporting of the developing situation at SPCK, where he has been restrained and taken care to avoid stepping over the line of objectivity.

Having followed the story for over a year, my opinion is that his reporting on Cartoon Church has been temperate and thoughtful; I have observed him repeatedly advise commentors to have cool heads, and I have regularly seen comments edited or removed when he thought they went too close to the line of controversy.

In order to help place the true facts - in my opinion - of this case where they can be sensibly debated, I am republishing some posts that were the subject of the complaint by Mark Brewer.

Perhaps you would care to reach your own opinions on the matter. You need to review the full set of 75 posts to reach an overall decision; I am sure that someone will give you that opportunity in due course.

“Thank goodness that we have this one, last bastion of free speech – the Internet. The internet, in particular, is the only truly free “press” we still have.”

(Mark Brewer Campaign Site 2000)