A very good friend of mine is currently embroiled in a “cease and desist” situation. The full story is here, and there is a long list of other supporters here.
A letter has been sent to Mr Brewer, the full text is below:
Dear Mr. Brewer
We are writing on behalf of 498 supporters of cartoonist and blogger Dave Walker, a
group which includes bishops, national journalists in the UK and US, lawyers,
clergy, and concerned members of the public.We would like to ask you please to contact Dave Walker and withdraw the demands made
in the ‘Cease and Desist’ letter which you sent him in July. Your letter, as far as
we know, instructed Dave to remove all his posts about the recent history of SPCK
bookshops or face action for libel. With the pressures of the impending Lambeth
conference, and a very short deadline given by yourself, Dave complied. He commented
at the time: “I have therefore removed all of the SPCK/SSG posts on this blog, as,
although I believe I have not done anything wrong I do not have the money to face a
legal battle. The removal of these posts is in no way an admission of guilt.”Many of us have read the posts concerned, and are surprised, to say the least, that
they could be called libelous. Indeed, the first three posts make no mention at all
of yourself, the Society of St. Stephen the Great, or anyone associated with you.
The 4th post reports your takeover of the bookshops with the comment “this is
splendid news.” Another post is a simple link to your SSG video on YouTube. Other
items include verbatim reports of your own statements, and in the simple post on the
death of Steve Jeynes, dozens of people used the comments to expressed their grief
and condolences to Steve’s family.Dave is a reasonable man, and if all critics were as fair as he is the world would
be a better place. If you were able to reconsider, and point out specific statements
and claims you were unhappy with, we are sure Dave would be happy to correct them
where appropriate. This is the normal process of debate on the internet, and in real
life, and follows the strong tradition of free speech for which our countries stand
and are rightly proud.So this is a polite request from all of us: please contact Dave Walker, advise him
that your ‘cease and desist’ communication no longer stands, and let him report
freely.Yours sincerely
8 signatories representing the ‘We Support Dave Walker’ group
I fully support Dave and his right to report on current affairs on his blog. The heavy-handed tactics designed to hinder free speech used against Dave are completely unneccesary, and I hope that Mr Brewer and his advisers see sense and work with the people affected to get the best outcome for this situation.
Hang in there Dave.
