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Mrs Belinda McKenzie
McKenzie Friend, ‘Public Interest Advocate’ (voluntary)
TO: THE HON. MRS JUSTICE PAUFFLEY
via her Clerk, Barry Clark, 16 February 2015
Your Ladyship
LB Barnet v. Draper and Dearman and Child A & Child G
Case No. ZC14c00315
Following the hearing of 26 January at which I acted as McKenzie Friend to the 1st Respondent, the mother in this case, I informed her that my initial trust that she would get a fair hearing of her issues before your Ladyship had evaporated and that, being unable to redress the situation as a McKenzie Friend, I was standing down from this role.
My reasons for withdrawing were
a) what we in the Association had perceived as collusion between the Local Authority and you, the judge
b) your endorsement of the Local Authority’s favouritism towards the father over the mother regarding frequency of contact.
In view of the fact that there are very serious allegations of abuse against the father which have not yet been properly investigated yet none such against the mother, it seemed to me/us grossly unfair and indeed wrong that the father has been granted weekly contact-time with the children while the mother may only see them fortnightly. There should at the very least be a level-playing field between the 1st and 2nd Respondents at this stage and the mother and I looked to you to iron out at least this anomaly on 26 January. However you chose to leave everything that Barnet Council have arranged in place, the only explanation being that the father has been more ‘cooperative’.
In withdrawing from the case I suggested to the mother, therefore, that she should reconsider seeking a more professional level of assistance than I and the Association of McKenzie Friends is able to provide. She agreed, so we began searching for a suitable solicitor/barrister, however so far we have been unsuccessful.
Therefore, I am requesting your permission to appear tomorrow before your ladyship once again as her McKenzie Friend and also that of the mother’s parents who are very anxious to join these proceedings. We are in process of attempting to find a Russian interpreter.
In the meantime, as you are fully aware, matters generally have escalated drastically, due to details of the case having leaked onto the internet. The Local Authority appears to have presumed the mother and/or my colleague Sabine McNeill to be liable for this and on 10 February persuaded your ladyship to issue an Order specifically constraining them to remove all offending materials from the internet by 16.00 on Friday 13th February 2015, as well as to refrain from any further harassment of the 2nd Respondent/the father.
I wish to say to you and will say publicly, that the mother herself is entirely innocent of publishing materials online since the case has been the subject of family court proceedings and has repeatedly requested throughout the period that the Association of McKenzie Friends has been involved in her case for stringent confidentiality to be maintain