“1. [The appellant] shall not: a. record FP by video or audio for any purpose or in any way; b. record whether by video, audio or photographing staff from placement 3, or any other health or social care staff concerned with FP; c. in any way publicise these proceedings or any evidence filed in the proceedings, including by way of posting on social media, YouTube, or any internet platform or website, including private or public sites; d. cause to be published on any social media, video or streaming service, including YouTube, any video or audio recording of FP, recorded at any date. 2. [The appellant] shall forthwith remove from any social media video or streaming service including YouTube and from any website or other location on the internet, including private or public sites, any video or audio recording of FP, and/or staff supporting FP, which is present on any of those sites or services.”
“[The appellant’s] conduct has therefore placed the court in an invidious position. If she is imprisoned for her deliberate and repeated breaches of court orders designed to protect her daughter, the fact of the imprisonment may well cause distress to the very person the court has sought to protect. A sanction other than imprisonment risks sending a signal to the [appellant] and to others that the court will tolerate deliberate breaches of its orders.”
“the circumstances of this case are such that immediate imprisonment is not justified. The imposition of immediate imprisonment would be harmful to the [appellant’s] husband and, most importantly, to FP. The fact that the [appellant] has removed the recordings of FP from the internet, albeit belatedly, allows me to pass a suspended sentence.”
“Please don't be surprised if you see a lot more videos on social media. I also will reinstall all of the old posts and videos with material evidence that the Court forced me to delete in January of this year, except one video which is not pixelated.”
“In short, the alleged breaches include posting of material which, cumulatively, names FP by her first name, refers to FP as her daughter, and refers to the Court of Protection proceedings. Hence they easily identify FP as the subject of the Court of Protection proceedings. They identify by name her placement; they identify by name a number of professionals who have cared for or been responsible for the health and wellbeing of FP, they mention the Court of Protection proceedings; they include posting links to documents within the proceedings.”
“42. The Court has no desire to pass a sentence of imprisonment on [Ms Macpherson], not least because in some sense that is exactly what she is provoking the Court to do. She wants to highlight her complaints about the treatment of her daughter. She has, for example, I understand, tweeted about the hearing today, no doubt to try and draw attention to herself and her allegations of conspiracy, corruption, and the torture of her daughter. In many ways, by bringing this committal application, the Local Authority has helped [Ms Macpherson] draw attention to her own position and campaign. On the other hand, the Local Authority is seeking as best as it can to protect FP, the protected party in the Court of Protection proceedings. 43. However, very importantly, a purpose of sentencing is to uphold the authority of the Court and discourage others from flagrantly breaching court orders. The law applies equally to all, even to those who believe, contrary to all the evidence, that they are conducting a justified campaign. [Ms Macpherson] has openly and intentionally defied the court in a brazen manner. I cannot allow the defendant to treat herself as beyond the law. 44. Taking into account all the mitigating and aggravating factors, and weighing all the relevant circumstances, I am satisfied that the only sentence that is appropriate in this case is one of imprisonment. Nothing else would meet the seriousness of [Ms Macpherson’s] contempt of court. In this case, given the previous suspended sentence and that the current contempt of court is of an identical kind to the previous contempt, it would not be appropriate to suspend the sentence of imprisonment. 45. The contempt of court was committed during the period of suspension of the sentence of imprisonment for the previous contempt and that sentence ought now to be made immediate.”
“This appeal arises from a committal order made against the Appellant following alleged breaches of a Court of Protection injunction dated30 June 2022 . However, the basis of the appellant’s actions lies in the long and deeply contested history of safeguarding failures, misrepresentation of capacity, denial of legal process, and serious violations of both the appellant’s and FP’s human rights, dating back to 2017.”
“This appeal challenges not only the committal order, but the broader injustice which preceded it. The appellant’s actions must be seen in the context of: ● systemic abuse and procedural manipulation, ● judicial and professional misconduct, ● a breakdown of trust in legal representation, ● and the enduring violation of her and her daughter’s basic rights. I now seek justice, transparency, and the reversal of orders made in error and without proper scrutiny.”