Couple face £400,000 legal bill after losing phone mast battle
By Ben Hoyle
Times online
September 14, 2005
A COUPLE who spent their life savings on a doomed two-year battle over a telephone mast now face financial ruin after being presented with a claim for £400,000 in legal costs.
Agnes Ingvarsdottir, 61 and her husband, Ericur Petursson, 63, began proceedings to have Hutchison 3G’s mast removed after the telecommunications company installed it on the roof of a restaurant opposite their home.
Soon after the mast became operational in August 2003 the couple and their son, Neils Erickson, 42, said that they began to suffer nausea, headaches and other health problems. But their attempt to prove that the mast caused the symptoms was thrown out by the High Court and they were instructed to pay Hutchison 3G’s legal costs.
The company has now presented the couple’s solicitor with a statement of its costs, which amount to £407,398. The company said that it had offered the family numerous opportunities to settle out of court.
Mrs Ingvarsdottir said yesterday that her family cannot pay. “We face financial ruin. We have no way of ever getting anywhere near paying this,” she said. “It is just unbelievable. We have no money. Even if the figure they eventually are awarded is less I doubt we could pay. The case was dragged out and it drained us of our savings.”
The family moved into their three-bedroom, Grade II-listed Georgian house in London Road, Worcester, in 1999, after coming to Britain from Denmark. Their son ran the family business, designing and making air filtering systems, from the property.
All three of them claim that they began to get ill when the mast became operational. Mrs Ingvarsdottir said: “Our lives just changed, it became very hard. We suffered headaches, nausea and vomiting, tinnitus and cardiovascular disease. I developed a blood clot in my leg, which I believe was caused by the mast.
“We have always been healthy people but suddenly we got everything going. I got chest infections. My guts were infected and my teeth started to fall out. It was like there was no immunity any more.” She added: “The doctor said there was no guidance on treatment of illness supposedly caused by phone masts. We had to move.”
They sold their house for £220,000 in August 2005, £50,000 less than it had been valued in 2003. Their new home, in Upper Colwall, Worcestershire, is surrounded by a conservation area.
--------
A family face financial ruin over a battle against a telephone mast
http://openpr.com/news/132.html
--------
Dirty dealings by Hutchison
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=210
More on Hutchison 3G dirty dealings
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=242
And still more on Hutchinson’s dirty dealings
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=244
http://www.mast-victims.org/index.php?content=journal&action=view&type=journal&id=11
--------
Hutchison 3G use intimidation tactics to keep people at bay
From http://www.powerwatch.org.uk
I understand that corporations have a principle motivation to make as much money as possible, but is it really ethical to drag out a court case with highly expensive corporate lawyers and then dump the 400,000 pound bill on normal home owners with bad health.
Click here for the full news story:
http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/news/20050914_hutchison.asp
--------
Dear Agnes,
I've just read the newspaper article about you. What can I say? This is absolutely monstrous - and I'm quite sure that H3G will be shown up for the brutes they are. I hope you are getting this into the big daily papers - it's a human interest story that they should be falling over themselves to 'scoop'. A simple family with little money being trampled on by a global giant, for nearly half a million pounds! It's fantastic stuff, and it will make H3G into the phone firm from hell! Try and get it on to national TV and radio if you can. You & Yours Radio 4 would be good. My email address is les.johnson2@ntlworld.com - if you need to talk about it, or if I can help in any way to get this maximum publicity for you, please just email me. Maybe Karen with all her media contacts could also give you some advice, and perhaps offer to link you up with some of the national journos? What about it Karen - could you help Agnes in this?
Good luck - you're not alone, we're with you all the way.
Jenny
--------
Thank you Jenny.
I am in quite a shock over, that if it is just about big money, the press is there and ready.
By now it has been on BBC Midlands today, all three on Monday, + Local BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester.
Yesterday with a press agency from Birmingham, who got it into the Times today:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1779393,00.html
Which is not a quite accurate article, but nothing big wrong with it.
So, that was today, (now yesterday) and also in the Daily Express.
Central news has contacted me, but I do not know if they will come through.
The press agency will also send it to Europe, so it might appear abroad.
And you bet I will make the most of it, while someone is still interested.
There are many of us, as you best know, and there are only going to be loads more within a couple of years.
And yes please, if you have any contacts, I sure can use them.
Eileen O,Connor got me into the BBC central news with her contacts and that started all this.
We have been trying since 2003 to get the press interested, to no avail, but big sums can do wonders.
I honestly think I took H3G unaware, in the start they did not seem to understand what had hit them, but now I can recognize their solicitors jargon now on the answers to the press, and they are trying to unwrap the intimidation method and lies again, to get the press to believe we are the bad guys.
But no matter what, we will never negotiate with H3G, we do not negotiate with yobs, thugs and Mafia.
I do know principles are expensive, but this is our opinion. Come what may.
I am going to write to Danish and Icelandc newspapers, and I have sent the times article to Omega news and stopumts in the Nederlands.
And to a Swedish site that brings mast news and happenings, in the hope that they will print it, and maybe a French site as well.
So, I am still sitting here at 4 o´clock in the morning and writing.
But I thank you for your concern, I can use all the help I can get, and I have had a lot of support from people.
Many of my neighbors have come by today to wish me luck and sympathy.
I feel like an angry Terrier dog, and I will do them all the harm I can, and try and show them off for what they are.
And yes, I do know I am not alone.
Thank you for your support,
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
From Karen Barratt
Mast Sanity press office is pushed at the moment. Sian is on holiday and as many of you know, my brother is in a coma after a stroke. I am still handling all enquiries (Lisa will back up if I'm called away). I did the press release on the blood test as Sian had been working round the clock and hadn't had time to do it. It was a priority as it's the first time a test showing the link between masts and health effects has been available. It will be difficult for the establishment to "rubbish." As a number of people are off line at the moment the press office is also dealing with all blood test enquiries.
I have great deal of sympathy with Agnes. It's a terrible situation to be in. I've seen both the reports in the nationals. I regret to say that I think the publicity on this occasion is a double edged sword. Unfortunately the main message that comes over is "challenge the operators and lose your house" which is precisely what H3G wants. They may shed crocodlie tears over the "bad" press but won't lose any sleep over it. Protestors will be too scared to take legal action when they read this. Most people would not put their houses on the line. I certainly wouldn't. H3G may be seen as a bully but their phones will still sell. I know only too well from the Winchester experience with Orange that the telecoms do not care about bad publicity. We've had nearly five years of negative stories about Orange but it has proved impossible to get a boycott going. People still buy their phones because the advertising campaigns are enormous and nobody can quite face up to the fact that their phones require masts. We also have pursued the legal route as you know but as far as possible protected individuals against personal liability but it's a risky business unless you can get public funding. However, the costs award which Orange got against Winchester City Council has resulted in other councils being afraid to upset the companies. This has resulted in our recent failure to get Hants County Council to support us on the highways issue.
--------
I do understand Karen, and being in a similar situation myself with regard to desperately ill relatives, you have all my sympathy. Your comments regarding the failure we all encounter when up against the Ops are absolutely correct and do nothing but strengthen and confirm my view that mass direct action is the only way forward. As you so rightly point out, all our careful and well reasoned arguments have failed to date. It is increasingly clear that we are doomed to being permanently oppressed by rogue Operators and a shameful government, and they will triumph unless they are faced by the united force of the people. It could be done, there are enough of us out there to make a real difference. Whether this is possible under the new Mast Sanity remit, is a question we must ask ourselves. But that's obviously for another time and place. For reasons which I think you are aware of, I am happily outside this now, and that in itself gives me a great sense of freedom.
Jenny
--------
Agnes.. obviously very sorry to hear about your situation. Personally I think you should challenge the amount. AS far as Im aware operators often quote ridiculous figures and often judges will tell them to stuff it when the people who have to pay have little funds and the ones wanting the money have vast reserves. Im fairly sure they have to justify the amount especially if your own personal legal bill was a lot lower.
The other thing to look at is what advice your solicitor gave you and if they gave you false hope of winning. Mast sanity have always advised people never to go to court unless they have legal aid. Its not fair but the way the courts are set up it has to be a unique case to win and the solicitors have to be specialists in planning and in mast cases as well as far as Im concerned. On top of that you’ve got the fact that even very very strong cases such as the bardsey case are lost – things are stacked very heavily against us so risking costs is something we advise against. I believe the solicitor has to make it quite clear what potential costs could be landed on you if you lost. I m not sure which solicitor you used was it one on our recommended list? I think I sent that to you with our info pack when you rang and its also on the website.
Check with Chris Maile about what solicitors have to do as he will know. ( however ive just rung him and found out hes closed again due to lack of support )
AS to media … Actually Agnes after you called me on the advice line I gave your number to absolutely every media contact about 18 months(?) ago national and many more local media wanted to contact you however none of them managed to contact you and did come back to tell me they couldn’t get hold of you. I rang you myself and emailed you many times as well to try and find out your situation but didn’t get a reply so sorry I stopped giving your number out. There was a time when we got many many press inquiries wanting “sick” people (!!) we obviously have a long list of them and you were on it however from what I can see press inquiries are looking at different things in our campaign at the moment.. not sure why.. maybe the terror climate? There will be a time however when they do come back to the health aspect and no doubt we can give your number and email out again.
Life as a Mast sanity volunteer is very difficult at the moment. Lots an lots of people are very frustrated by the lack of movement and expect an awful lot of our volunteers. I often read emails on this list saying mast sanity should be doing this mast sanity should be doing that. Im afraid there is only so many hours in the day and in order to keep sane volunteers do have to have a break sometimes.. what we could do with is more volunteers.. there is so much we could do and could be doing but without people prepared to represent mast sanity and prepared to put the hours in then we have to limit what we do. Our priority as always is helping those people starting out who need to fight NOW. However we are doing things that might not be very obvious eg are you all aware Amanda is talking to all MPS on a regular basis educating them on the new research etc. Theres been a def upturn in political interest and I feel Amanda is partly responsible for that.
Media is slow at the moment as our press office people are under a lot of strain... – it shows when I have to provide cover!! I “broke” a long time ago and if it wasn’t for the current volunteers mast sanity and this list would have disappeared totally last November. As a result of working too hard for too long Im just not able to work much for mast sanity now.
Its very difficult to get any meaty stories in with all the iraq stuff and terrorist stuff…the mobile industry and scientific “authorities” are making the most of this time by slipping in news etc that in quieter times would be big news but now slips easily past the media.
Again Agnes I really do feel for your situation and I would reiterate that you should look at getting legal advice on how to reduce the amount.
Regards
Lisa Oldham
--------
Actually I and mast sanity fully support direct action.
Direct action is not necessarily unlawful action.. I presume Jen you arnt suggesting we all break the law in this fairly open list and that that is the sort of direct action you are thinking of? I ALL for it and always have been.. so is mast sanity.. not sure why you think we arnt? Charity status doesn’t prevent us doing anything but officially (!!) organizing a protest (think we might be able to get round that as well don’t you!) we have to educate politicians rather than lobby them but its not affecting what we do at all.. wish wed done it years ago as it gives us lots more credibility with officious arsy types. Of course there was no one like Sian to do all the form filling for me then though which is why I never got round to it
We cant and never have either as an org or a charity supported unlawful activity. Apart from it being against the law and an org of any sort could be help responsible in the end if they endorsed it, its the ordinary people who are driven to do the unlawful stuff that end up paying for it - not the operators… I only want operators to pay.
If you look at our info pack it continues - as always - to advise groups to carry out direct action, that loud noisy very public campaigns are the most successful - but understandably many are reluctant.. many people who are faced with masts have never marched or chanted or waved placards at anything – it’s a big change….
Over the years we and other groups have tried to organize mass activities.. ie school pull outs etc.. there are lots of us but we are spread out .. there may be an activist at every school but we don’t have 500 at every school and we need the majority to pull out.. its not a success if one parent pulls children out of school because of a mast close by. Take my old school the school lost 4 families of children as a result of the mast…. But the rest stayed and sit underneath one of the loudest base stations I have ever heard. They all know its there.. many of them have seen my demonstration of the acousticom… many are close friends of mine - none of them care/KNOW – enough!
And look at how many have NOT carried out the health survey… an independent scientific national survey .. 50 at the last count and they were 50 individuals NOT 50 groups of surveys!!
And then remember the protest in London !!! We almost had more police than campaigners… I appreciate many of you think this is a newish campaign but there are people out there who have been fighting nationally for over 10 years now… at the time of the protest we contacted over 2000 groups that both Planning and Mast sanity had helped… some more than once.. in theory if they all came and brought a couple of mates we reckoned 10 thou campaigners would have gone to London .. the media certainly believed it possible and so did the police… they knew the extent of local uproar.. however we actually got under 300….considering the hard work that went into organizing it and the cost of the event it was pitiful and both chris and I felt very let down.. it was soul destroying.
Im not saying Im against mass protest again its just you have to be realistic of what you can expect of people … thousands of people fighting masts only 300 ish who thought it worth going to London to protest. Any direct action now HAS to be successful.. the media and industry will keep a very close eye on what goes on..we cant afford to fail again
What Id like to see first is more unity of local groups… more local people meeting together – maybe as branches of mast sanity…. I d love to see people getting more people on this list or At least using our forum.
People working together… people acting as one.. people using their personal talents to forward this very difficult national campaign. Coordinated direct action is impossible unless people are already working together and communicating effectively… organizing and attending big events is daunting for people unused to protesting unless they have local support and are part of the community.
Cheers
LisaO
--------
Lisa.
I have never received the list of numbers to the media you talk about.
18 months ago we were desperately trying to flee our radiated home, after having spent a fortune bying and installing netal netting, led curtains, ferrets to put on every single electricity outlet and so on. And having to acknowledge that this did not help enough to block out the pollution.
We finally found an empty house to move into (and moved in there 18 months ago.) And we were in a pretty bad state, practically not having slept, and having been continuously sick since 7th of August 2003.
And please Lisa, I am not blaming you, mast sanity or anyone in the mast resistance movement.
You helped me to find Dr. Hyland for Expert witness, we had scored the country to try and find one, but no-one was willing. The only one willing was Dr. Santini in France, but our solicitor rejected him.
You sent me information about a solicitor in Birmingham, my husband spoke to him, but felt he seemed very dis-interested,
We could not get legal aid as we had “2 houses” it did not count that we were unable to stay in the contaminated house.
And of course we are challenging the amount.
H3G had already demanded to see our financial status, before they submitted their demand so they knew all about what we had and what we did not have, and where it had gone. They went far past the deadline that had been put to them to deliver the cost demand, and asked for 6 weeks extension and she gave them 3 weeks, but when they delivered the cost demand they gave a 3 week deadline for our new solicitor to deliver the assessment, it she wanted more time we would have to pay them £. 40000.- on account. So much for “Settlement offers”.
They had earlier estimated their legal cost to be £. 233000.- and told the judge they could not see it exceeding that amount, but in reality they almost doubled that amount.
Now they come back and say they would accept less (no numbers), but it is too late for that, if they can accept less they should have asked for less. It makes no difference to us.
I know very well that following principles can be very costly, but we are going to follow that up, no matter what.
They lied in court, repeatedly, and were allowed to get away with it, and the judge was totally biased FOR H3G.
So I am going to do everything I possibly can to hurt them, and highlight what kind of POND-LIFE they really are.
I have nothing more to loose. They stole my health, they stole my home, they stole my life, and changed it for ever. I am really pissed-off, but we will not go down without a stink.
So, if you want to give me a hand, encourage people to write letters to the press and support us.
Mast-sanity has done that on more than one occasion, and I, and everybody else in similar situation could do with that now, to show them lots of people care.
And remember, this is not just about H3G it is about all the operators.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
If I am not mistaken there have been one or two significant cases this year in which European Courts have ruled that cases have not been dealt with lawfully because large multinationals ettc have been favoured by tvirtue of their limitless resources. The MacDonalds two are the most recent, although in their case they were the defendants, but there is also the case of the Cornerhouse Group, who were granted legal funding to take the Government to court for failing in their statutory obligation. Perhaps there is some possibility of pursuing a similar line to recover costs from the Government, as they have failed repeatedly on this issue. I realise that this is a legal minefield, but it's worth investigating. You have my sympathy for the plight that H3G's treachery and the government's ludicrous laws have left you in, but most of all you have my admiration for standing up to them whatever the consequences. I truly hope that there is some way you can recover your costs, as if ever there was a case of someone suffering financial loss because of the Government's failure in their statutory obligations it is yours. I know that there is an area that we can identify in your case inasmuch as the Secretary of State and Ofcom have not complied with one of their statutory obligations to date. I have discussed this briefly with Chris Maile who is going to provide me with some more information on this. Once I have any information that may be of use to you I shall let you know in case you can use it.
Amanda
--------
Dear Amanda.
Thank you for your support, it is truly appreciated.
Support is the most important thing when people are doing such an absolutely stupid thing like we have been and are doing.
But the thing is, you only get one chance of standing up for your self and if you don’t use it, you have wasted it, and it won’t come again.
As I said principles can be costly, but they have harmed us enough, we were not allowed to proof our case in court,
We were not allowed to say anything, unless asked, we were not allowed to point out their lies, (some of which we have written proof for were lies) or put the proof forward.
We have nothing more to loose, so we can just as well give it all we got, and hope to make a real stink, so EVEN the elected members of the British society will notice, and maybe start thinking about doing something about it. Like my MP for one.
If enough people support us with voicing their opinion in form of letters and so on it will be a huge help, and will get noticed.
The more that write in to BBC Midlands today, The Times and the Daily Express the better.
When we saw the draft judgment we drew up a list of corrections, which very well might have changed the verdict, but we were not allowed to deliver it to the judge, although we can now see from the cost demand that H3G are charging us for the time spent making corrections to the draft judgment.
I am already getting huge help from my friends and other people round Europe are working on doing the same.
I have had support from Powerwatch and much more. It is awfully nice and you see you do friends in need.
Hutchison ran a test-case on us to be able to stop everyone else, so lets show the operators that we can unite and turn against them, so that they will see that they had made a BIG MISTAKE.
I have sent the times article to national newspapers in Iceland and Denmark, and am going to send it to all the big newspapers here and in The Nordic countries and Europe that I can find, in the hope that they will take up the issue, as well as all the mast resistance groups that I can find.
Here and elsewhere.
And thank you Amanda for the offer of information, I am sure we can use it and learn from it.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
Lisa, I completely understand and support the fact that Mast Sanity cannot advocate illegal action of any kind. That is a given. What individuals choose to do when up against the illegal bullying tactics of the Ops is of course up to them. You quite rightly state that legal direct action is very effective, especially when carried out en masse.
Should Mast Sanity be advising parents in all its affiliated campaign groups to withdraw their children from schools near masts? Well, that's up to MS. Personally I would say that that would be one of the most powerfully effective actions concerned parents could take. Does MS need to suggest this publicly as a direct action policy? I doubt that it could so even if it wanted to, as it would be considered too contentious, and furthermore, as a 'politically motivated agenda' it would be outside the remit of MS charity status. But it is certainly clear in my mind that such action would bring forward the results we so desperately need. Nothing I can think of would galvanise this Government into action more than seeing thousands of children across the UK removed from their schools because of their proximity to masts. It would be political dynamite, quite possibly resulting in the change in planning policy that they promised and refused to implement.
It was interesting that Ofcom decided to ban the 'Make Poverty History' advert on TV, because it was seen to have a political agenda.
I do of course remember the Mast Sanity march in London - I was there - holding the MS banner up front and throughout the whole of the march! Yes, it was a real shame that so few people turned up. However, that was three years ago, and clearly a great deal has happened in that 3 years. Thanks in great part to Mast Sanity, people are far better informed and active than ever before. We have also been able to convince a lot more politicians, thanks to Amanda. So, although I understand what you're saying, I do believe that we have reached a time when, given direction and support, far more people than you think would be willing to take national direct action. However, it's really not for me to comment, it's just a personal opinion.
You are right that hard pressed and totally committed MS volunteers have far more to do than they can possibly cope with, therefore it is vital that they are kept on board. Speaking personally, I think you must be aware, as I know one or two others are, that my input on any level, has been totally curtailed, and not by me. I am happy to say though, that my newfound freedom 'outside the loop' is not something I would ever want to change!
Jenny
--------
Caroline.
Yes, that is what we are going to do, if and when we get funds.
We fired our solicitor and are waiting for legal aid to find out if we can proof professional negligence against the firm.
At the moment our new solicitor is going through H3Gs cost demand, and I believe by having read and compared different posts, that it might qualify for The title “Fiction of the Century”, but we will see, what our solicitor comes up with.
We will of course also work for getting the right to appeal, and are hoping that the proof for that will come to light when we scrutinize the negligence case.
So, as you see, we are fighting on all fronts.
We are also working hard on trying to keep the press interested.
So, like they say on the news “Keep an eye on this spot”
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
Dear Agnes,
Glad to hear this. I hadn't realised it was your case (backlog of emails to read because of the holidays). My husband, a barrister, was also shocked that the fees were so high. Presumably the fees quoted do not include your own legal costs. He was asking if you had had solicitors advising you; what advice you were given as to the prospects of success; whether you were advised as to the risk of having to pay the other side's costs and what they could be, and whether any consideration was given to contingency fees (no win-no fee). Until I saw that you have new solicitors I was going to say that my husband, formerly a solicitor and now a barrister of 35 years' experience, had offered to look at your file on an informal basis to see if you had a case for negligence. He would then have recommended competent solicitors to help you. He did mention that your previous solicitors should have warned you clearly that you may well be liable for the whole of Hutchison's costs and that if they had real doubt that you would win then they should have advised you to stop. Of course we do not know what advice was or was not given and they may of course be saying that you were fully advised.
We in Winchester used very good lawyers with much experience in mast matters and the relevant law, and this experience and knowledge is vital as it is a very specialist field. Over a period of 4 1/2 years covering legal action up to the House of Lords we were able to use a mixture of full and partial legal aid, no win-no fee, and full fees mostly paid by the community. I think this is the only way to avoid excessive legal bills. It is interesting to note that for no win-no fee generally there has to be a 70% chance of winning and insurance can be taken out to cover the other side's costs if the case is lost. If your solicitors didn't work on a no win-no fee basis because it was thought your chances of success were not high enough, then I would have thought that they should have advised you not to go ahead. Anyway, none of this is advice but concerned comment! I do hope that your new solicitors will be able to retrieve something for you from this mess.
Kind regards
Caroline
--------
Dear Panayis Zambellis Luton,
We do not live there anymore.
In the end we had to abandon our home (and place of work, means we were there 24 hours a day/7 days/week, 365 days/year )
The house is still standing empty 1½ years later. Why I wonder.
I still miss my house awfully.
But we did get lots of measurements on the Com monitor.
With the mast only 28 meters away, our Com monitor lit up like a Xmas tree. (see attached photo, all lights are lit to the top of the scale). http://www.omega-news.info/P1010002.JPG
But the thing is that UMTS is a sinister thing.
It is not the deadly silent radiation of GSM.
It is very noisy indeed. And probably even more deadly than GSM.
I first found out about the noise when they shut the mast down for repairs on the 180804 and then again on the 010904.
It was like coming into the “EYE” of a Tornado, suddenly it was totally quiet after the raging storm.
Erik measured and there was no radiation.
And then suddenly it all started again, and I felt physically that they had turned it on again, Erik measured and it was on again.
But the worst thing is, that we made a lot of effort to shield for the radiation, and managed to shield it away.
But still, sitting in the spots where the beams came into the house we fainted and lost consciousness.
There is still a big mark in the carpet of our TV room where my hot iron fell on the floor and melted the carpet fibre.
We were very lucky that the carpet did not ignite and burn the house down, because we only came to quite a while later, and the room was full of fumes from the melted carpet.
I have never been so scared in my whole life.
Dr. Gerald Hyland went into the house just before our case came to court and measured with his Acousticom, and he said that he had never heard the Acousticom screech like this before.
It was the highest reading he had ever had.
Best regards.
Agnes.
P.S. I have now moved us to a place almost at the top of the “Mountain” Malvern Hills, where there is 1.5 km to the nearest mast. (But even here, surrounded by conservation area of “Outstanding Beauty” where no progress is allowed, there is still a small private area where a greedy private person plays a host to a mast, but as I say 1.5 km away).
--------
Dear Sandy.
Agnes story it only about greedy Telecoms and greedy lawyers wanting money, so why should that have that effect.
It even does not do that to me, and I am Agnes. Money is only money. Money can never replace integrity, principe and ethics.
H3G, and their solicitors, they lied, and they cheated, they even lied in court, where we were not allowed to object.
And I can proof all of it, in their writing.
Some of the lying is coming to light now, very clearly at that, as we are going through their cost claims.
I do not think this will be the last word in this case, which they meant to be a warning to us all.
So, perk up your spirits.
Keep them up. Keep fighting.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
Dear Sweet Agnes,
I was concerned for your illness, your family, and losing your home, so that should have affected me emotionally, and the operator greed should have aroused my anger. You were, and are, a just cause. I was just a little bottled up with so much told to me on the advice line and elsewhere.
I should perhaps explain that I am part Sioux Indian and seem to have inherited the temperament and ways. I am deeply emotional and compassionate, usually calm and peaceful, but can also be fiery, determined, and without fear when I am angry. My spirits are rarely down, I just get on overload sometimes and close down till something stirs my emotions and anger again - then I am back on the warpath.
Sandi
--------
It's great to read these messages. I get despondent occasionally and reading these emails really helps reignite the fighting spirit. Keep up the good work. You are much appreciated.
John Elliott
--------
Sandi
I too get very upset by peoples apathy and mocking attitudes - mainly angry - but also very upset at all the millions of people being made ill by untramelled spread of this most harmful technology.
It's so good to hear the voice of someone who truly cares.
I'm not sure whether the woman I spoke to (about a year ago now) was the Head or a high ranking teacher, so if you contact the Head bear in mind it could be man or woman.
The address is: Carlton Hill Primary School, Sussex Street, Brighton. Tel 01273 604966.
You may tell her that a local researcher (me) has measured the microwaves around the school perimeter on several occasions over the last two years and the readings (at between 3 - 6 volts per metre every time) exceed the Swiss, Italian and Austrian safety limits and are known by scientists worldwide to be at levels causing worrying adverse biological effects.
You can tell her that I am certain these emissions are coming from the masts on top of the police station opposite and that the school, given the signal strength and its position in relation to the masts, could well be smack in the midst of the beam of maximum intensity.
Remind her what Bill Stewart says - under 16s should never use mobiles and masts shouild not be sited near schools etc. Also that study in the North of England which has already in the early stages shown kids going to school with nosebleeds etc
There was another study conducted several years ago now comparing a primary school with a mast on its premises to one without. A questionnaire was completed by about a hundred parents from each school and showed much higher incidences of behavioural and learning problems, regular infections, nausea, headaches, nosebleeds etc etc at the school with the transmitter. If you don't have the details I can look for it for you.
She might want to get an Argus (local paper) reporter on the case. she could try emailing Rachel Pegg, Siobhan Ryan or Jenny Legg at the Argus - email formula is rachel.pegg@theargus.co.uk
Many thanks Sandi,
Gary
--------
Dear Panays.
I live on the Hereford side side of the Malvern Hills. The large mast is on the Worcestershire side very low down on the hill, just above Great Malvern town on the other side of the hill, and we are facing North West I think.
The big transmitter is the main transmitter in the area, but judging from the quality of our TV and radio signals it does not reach us, but the mast in Ledbury does.
Droitwhich (where we lived 30 years ago) is a lot further away than 16 miles. I would think it is nearer 20 miles.
We did measurements in the area here, and could not measure any radiation. There is a small GSM mast here about 1½ miles away on the top of the hill, at a lot higher level and there is one in Chances Pitch, but our new house is shielded by 5 or 6 other houses, and we get no readings.
So far, so lucky, because it is becoming impossible to find a place in Britain where there are no masts, of some kind or the other in the immediate vicinity.
I guess the thing is, we have lived with radio masts since before I was born, and then came GSM, but these have never had any direct impact on us that we could feel, but UMTS is an altogether different cup of tea.
And there is something very sinister about the screaming noise from these masts.
Having one so near as we had feels like being in a raging storm. The noise is unbelieavable.
But thank you for the maps, I will put a cross on the big one to show you where we are now, we are out of the picture on the multi-map townmap.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
Hi Sandy.
I can easily identify with what you say of your temperament. I come from the very far, frozen and volcanic North Atlantic Ocean, (Iceland) and believe I am normally a very peaceful person, cool and collected, but when abused or looking upon abuse of others my temper turns volcanic, and I have no fear either.
I feel, we have been abused and raped by H3G and I will fight them until I drop, and I am not talking about money, money comes and money goes, but our good health, good harmonic and peaceful life in our home has been robbed from us, and that is irretrievable.
And that I cannot forgive.
And having to look upon it being excused by lies in a court of law, which is supposed to look after the rights of the individual against abuse.
And that I can not forgive.
So like my Viking for-fathers, I am now in a state of “Eye for an Eye, tooth for a tooth” frame of mind and will do everything in my power to hurt these people and their organization.
Only, I am not prepared to LIE and CHEAT like they do, but then there is more than enough sleaze, dishonesty and crimes on their CV´s ready to be used, without having to use their dishonest methods.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
FYI from Jenny.
Below is the letter I'm sending to George Young, Blair and the ODPM. I have included Don's excellent article 'Has British Labour forgotten the lesson from BSE? http://omega.twoday.net/stories/990190/
Dear Sir George,
Forgive me for contacting you again so soon, but I felt the enclosed Mast Sanity PR and other information, might be of interest to you. Don Maisch (EMfacts Consultancy) is a Trustee of Mast Sanity. He is based in Australia.
I am in touch with Agnes Ingvarsdottir and this is a truly shocking case. She and her husband were forced to leave their much loved home because of the severe illness which they both began to suffer after a 3G mast was erected opposite their house. They became so ill with radiation sickness that they finally gave up the struggle and put the house on the market. Because of the mast it was devalued by £50,000! In short, their lives have been torn apart. Sadly they are not alone – this is happening all over the country.
Mr & Mrs Ingvarsdottir bravely decided to ‘take on’ H3G, with the all too predictable consequences. Some time ago a telecom operator came under fire when they tried to prevent a court case by means of ‘corporate blackmail’ ie a blatant attempt to terrify the complainants into submission by threats of huge legal costs. It is a well known tactic of the Mobile Phone Industry, to scare off anyone who might contemplate similar action.
The couple, victims of the company’s ‘dirty tricks’, are facing nearly half a million in legal costs – costs which soared as H3G deliberately strung out the process, their lawyers conducting the equivalent of political filibustering. Under no circumstances can such intimidation by a global giant be condoned. We might as well be living in a third world dictatorship, where the poor have no justice and the law is hijacked by the rich and powerful.
Logic dictates that if the telecoms had nothing to fear regarding the safety of the technology, they would not have to resort to such extreme and ruthless measures - the science would uphold their argument. But it doesn’t, and this is the whole point. No wonder then, that they have to inflict Mafia-like intimidation to prevent due process, and the truth from being heard. Technology can be wonderful, and Big Business is undoubtedly vital to any economy, but it profits no-one when it destroys local democracy, trust in politicians, and puts the whole country at risk by jeopardising public health and safety.
Now that the HPA has established that masts cause biological damage to health far below ICNIRP guidelines, it is clear that the Government must urgently change planning regulations to fully protect citizens against long term, biological damage from mast emissions.
ICNIRP IS NO PROTECTION AND SHOULD NO LONGER BE USED AS THE SOLE ARBITER OF SAFETY BY GOVERNMENT OR INDUSTRY.
There is one final comment I would like to make Sir George, and it’s this. Almost every community and LPA in the land is struggling with the telecom dilemma. Our government has abandoned its principles, polluted the environment and sacrificed the present and future health of the nation – all for profit and greed.
I genuinely believe that any party that wants to win the next election, could do no better than to face this issue head on – publicly and with moral resolve. The telecom industry has unfettered power, but it cannot elect governments. Only people can do that.
I intend to send this letter to others, so please feel free to show it to your parliamentary colleagues. I’m sure you’ll agree that the public deserves transparency and clarity on the views of their MP’s, on this subject.
Kind regards,
Jennifer (Godschall Johnson)
Times online
September 14, 2005
A COUPLE who spent their life savings on a doomed two-year battle over a telephone mast now face financial ruin after being presented with a claim for £400,000 in legal costs.
Agnes Ingvarsdottir, 61 and her husband, Ericur Petursson, 63, began proceedings to have Hutchison 3G’s mast removed after the telecommunications company installed it on the roof of a restaurant opposite their home.
Soon after the mast became operational in August 2003 the couple and their son, Neils Erickson, 42, said that they began to suffer nausea, headaches and other health problems. But their attempt to prove that the mast caused the symptoms was thrown out by the High Court and they were instructed to pay Hutchison 3G’s legal costs.
The company has now presented the couple’s solicitor with a statement of its costs, which amount to £407,398. The company said that it had offered the family numerous opportunities to settle out of court.
Mrs Ingvarsdottir said yesterday that her family cannot pay. “We face financial ruin. We have no way of ever getting anywhere near paying this,” she said. “It is just unbelievable. We have no money. Even if the figure they eventually are awarded is less I doubt we could pay. The case was dragged out and it drained us of our savings.”
The family moved into their three-bedroom, Grade II-listed Georgian house in London Road, Worcester, in 1999, after coming to Britain from Denmark. Their son ran the family business, designing and making air filtering systems, from the property.
All three of them claim that they began to get ill when the mast became operational. Mrs Ingvarsdottir said: “Our lives just changed, it became very hard. We suffered headaches, nausea and vomiting, tinnitus and cardiovascular disease. I developed a blood clot in my leg, which I believe was caused by the mast.
“We have always been healthy people but suddenly we got everything going. I got chest infections. My guts were infected and my teeth started to fall out. It was like there was no immunity any more.” She added: “The doctor said there was no guidance on treatment of illness supposedly caused by phone masts. We had to move.”
They sold their house for £220,000 in August 2005, £50,000 less than it had been valued in 2003. Their new home, in Upper Colwall, Worcestershire, is surrounded by a conservation area.
--------
A family face financial ruin over a battle against a telephone mast
http://openpr.com/news/132.html
--------
Dirty dealings by Hutchison
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=210
More on Hutchison 3G dirty dealings
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=242
And still more on Hutchinson’s dirty dealings
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=244
http://www.mast-victims.org/index.php?content=journal&action=view&type=journal&id=11
--------
Hutchison 3G use intimidation tactics to keep people at bay
From http://www.powerwatch.org.uk
I understand that corporations have a principle motivation to make as much money as possible, but is it really ethical to drag out a court case with highly expensive corporate lawyers and then dump the 400,000 pound bill on normal home owners with bad health.
Click here for the full news story:
http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/news/20050914_hutchison.asp
--------
Dear Agnes,
I've just read the newspaper article about you. What can I say? This is absolutely monstrous - and I'm quite sure that H3G will be shown up for the brutes they are. I hope you are getting this into the big daily papers - it's a human interest story that they should be falling over themselves to 'scoop'. A simple family with little money being trampled on by a global giant, for nearly half a million pounds! It's fantastic stuff, and it will make H3G into the phone firm from hell! Try and get it on to national TV and radio if you can. You & Yours Radio 4 would be good. My email address is les.johnson2@ntlworld.com - if you need to talk about it, or if I can help in any way to get this maximum publicity for you, please just email me. Maybe Karen with all her media contacts could also give you some advice, and perhaps offer to link you up with some of the national journos? What about it Karen - could you help Agnes in this?
Good luck - you're not alone, we're with you all the way.
Jenny
--------
Thank you Jenny.
I am in quite a shock over, that if it is just about big money, the press is there and ready.
By now it has been on BBC Midlands today, all three on Monday, + Local BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester.
Yesterday with a press agency from Birmingham, who got it into the Times today:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1779393,00.html
Which is not a quite accurate article, but nothing big wrong with it.
So, that was today, (now yesterday) and also in the Daily Express.
Central news has contacted me, but I do not know if they will come through.
The press agency will also send it to Europe, so it might appear abroad.
And you bet I will make the most of it, while someone is still interested.
There are many of us, as you best know, and there are only going to be loads more within a couple of years.
And yes please, if you have any contacts, I sure can use them.
Eileen O,Connor got me into the BBC central news with her contacts and that started all this.
We have been trying since 2003 to get the press interested, to no avail, but big sums can do wonders.
I honestly think I took H3G unaware, in the start they did not seem to understand what had hit them, but now I can recognize their solicitors jargon now on the answers to the press, and they are trying to unwrap the intimidation method and lies again, to get the press to believe we are the bad guys.
But no matter what, we will never negotiate with H3G, we do not negotiate with yobs, thugs and Mafia.
I do know principles are expensive, but this is our opinion. Come what may.
I am going to write to Danish and Icelandc newspapers, and I have sent the times article to Omega news and stopumts in the Nederlands.
And to a Swedish site that brings mast news and happenings, in the hope that they will print it, and maybe a French site as well.
So, I am still sitting here at 4 o´clock in the morning and writing.
But I thank you for your concern, I can use all the help I can get, and I have had a lot of support from people.
Many of my neighbors have come by today to wish me luck and sympathy.
I feel like an angry Terrier dog, and I will do them all the harm I can, and try and show them off for what they are.
And yes, I do know I am not alone.
Thank you for your support,
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
From Karen Barratt
Mast Sanity press office is pushed at the moment. Sian is on holiday and as many of you know, my brother is in a coma after a stroke. I am still handling all enquiries (Lisa will back up if I'm called away). I did the press release on the blood test as Sian had been working round the clock and hadn't had time to do it. It was a priority as it's the first time a test showing the link between masts and health effects has been available. It will be difficult for the establishment to "rubbish." As a number of people are off line at the moment the press office is also dealing with all blood test enquiries.
I have great deal of sympathy with Agnes. It's a terrible situation to be in. I've seen both the reports in the nationals. I regret to say that I think the publicity on this occasion is a double edged sword. Unfortunately the main message that comes over is "challenge the operators and lose your house" which is precisely what H3G wants. They may shed crocodlie tears over the "bad" press but won't lose any sleep over it. Protestors will be too scared to take legal action when they read this. Most people would not put their houses on the line. I certainly wouldn't. H3G may be seen as a bully but their phones will still sell. I know only too well from the Winchester experience with Orange that the telecoms do not care about bad publicity. We've had nearly five years of negative stories about Orange but it has proved impossible to get a boycott going. People still buy their phones because the advertising campaigns are enormous and nobody can quite face up to the fact that their phones require masts. We also have pursued the legal route as you know but as far as possible protected individuals against personal liability but it's a risky business unless you can get public funding. However, the costs award which Orange got against Winchester City Council has resulted in other councils being afraid to upset the companies. This has resulted in our recent failure to get Hants County Council to support us on the highways issue.
--------
I do understand Karen, and being in a similar situation myself with regard to desperately ill relatives, you have all my sympathy. Your comments regarding the failure we all encounter when up against the Ops are absolutely correct and do nothing but strengthen and confirm my view that mass direct action is the only way forward. As you so rightly point out, all our careful and well reasoned arguments have failed to date. It is increasingly clear that we are doomed to being permanently oppressed by rogue Operators and a shameful government, and they will triumph unless they are faced by the united force of the people. It could be done, there are enough of us out there to make a real difference. Whether this is possible under the new Mast Sanity remit, is a question we must ask ourselves. But that's obviously for another time and place. For reasons which I think you are aware of, I am happily outside this now, and that in itself gives me a great sense of freedom.
Jenny
--------
Agnes.. obviously very sorry to hear about your situation. Personally I think you should challenge the amount. AS far as Im aware operators often quote ridiculous figures and often judges will tell them to stuff it when the people who have to pay have little funds and the ones wanting the money have vast reserves. Im fairly sure they have to justify the amount especially if your own personal legal bill was a lot lower.
The other thing to look at is what advice your solicitor gave you and if they gave you false hope of winning. Mast sanity have always advised people never to go to court unless they have legal aid. Its not fair but the way the courts are set up it has to be a unique case to win and the solicitors have to be specialists in planning and in mast cases as well as far as Im concerned. On top of that you’ve got the fact that even very very strong cases such as the bardsey case are lost – things are stacked very heavily against us so risking costs is something we advise against. I believe the solicitor has to make it quite clear what potential costs could be landed on you if you lost. I m not sure which solicitor you used was it one on our recommended list? I think I sent that to you with our info pack when you rang and its also on the website.
Check with Chris Maile about what solicitors have to do as he will know. ( however ive just rung him and found out hes closed again due to lack of support )
AS to media … Actually Agnes after you called me on the advice line I gave your number to absolutely every media contact about 18 months(?) ago national and many more local media wanted to contact you however none of them managed to contact you and did come back to tell me they couldn’t get hold of you. I rang you myself and emailed you many times as well to try and find out your situation but didn’t get a reply so sorry I stopped giving your number out. There was a time when we got many many press inquiries wanting “sick” people (!!) we obviously have a long list of them and you were on it however from what I can see press inquiries are looking at different things in our campaign at the moment.. not sure why.. maybe the terror climate? There will be a time however when they do come back to the health aspect and no doubt we can give your number and email out again.
Life as a Mast sanity volunteer is very difficult at the moment. Lots an lots of people are very frustrated by the lack of movement and expect an awful lot of our volunteers. I often read emails on this list saying mast sanity should be doing this mast sanity should be doing that. Im afraid there is only so many hours in the day and in order to keep sane volunteers do have to have a break sometimes.. what we could do with is more volunteers.. there is so much we could do and could be doing but without people prepared to represent mast sanity and prepared to put the hours in then we have to limit what we do. Our priority as always is helping those people starting out who need to fight NOW. However we are doing things that might not be very obvious eg are you all aware Amanda is talking to all MPS on a regular basis educating them on the new research etc. Theres been a def upturn in political interest and I feel Amanda is partly responsible for that.
Media is slow at the moment as our press office people are under a lot of strain... – it shows when I have to provide cover!! I “broke” a long time ago and if it wasn’t for the current volunteers mast sanity and this list would have disappeared totally last November. As a result of working too hard for too long Im just not able to work much for mast sanity now.
Its very difficult to get any meaty stories in with all the iraq stuff and terrorist stuff…the mobile industry and scientific “authorities” are making the most of this time by slipping in news etc that in quieter times would be big news but now slips easily past the media.
Again Agnes I really do feel for your situation and I would reiterate that you should look at getting legal advice on how to reduce the amount.
Regards
Lisa Oldham
--------
Actually I and mast sanity fully support direct action.
Direct action is not necessarily unlawful action.. I presume Jen you arnt suggesting we all break the law in this fairly open list and that that is the sort of direct action you are thinking of? I ALL for it and always have been.. so is mast sanity.. not sure why you think we arnt? Charity status doesn’t prevent us doing anything but officially (!!) organizing a protest (think we might be able to get round that as well don’t you!) we have to educate politicians rather than lobby them but its not affecting what we do at all.. wish wed done it years ago as it gives us lots more credibility with officious arsy types. Of course there was no one like Sian to do all the form filling for me then though which is why I never got round to it
We cant and never have either as an org or a charity supported unlawful activity. Apart from it being against the law and an org of any sort could be help responsible in the end if they endorsed it, its the ordinary people who are driven to do the unlawful stuff that end up paying for it - not the operators… I only want operators to pay.
If you look at our info pack it continues - as always - to advise groups to carry out direct action, that loud noisy very public campaigns are the most successful - but understandably many are reluctant.. many people who are faced with masts have never marched or chanted or waved placards at anything – it’s a big change….
Over the years we and other groups have tried to organize mass activities.. ie school pull outs etc.. there are lots of us but we are spread out .. there may be an activist at every school but we don’t have 500 at every school and we need the majority to pull out.. its not a success if one parent pulls children out of school because of a mast close by. Take my old school the school lost 4 families of children as a result of the mast…. But the rest stayed and sit underneath one of the loudest base stations I have ever heard. They all know its there.. many of them have seen my demonstration of the acousticom… many are close friends of mine - none of them care/KNOW – enough!
And look at how many have NOT carried out the health survey… an independent scientific national survey .. 50 at the last count and they were 50 individuals NOT 50 groups of surveys!!
And then remember the protest in London !!! We almost had more police than campaigners… I appreciate many of you think this is a newish campaign but there are people out there who have been fighting nationally for over 10 years now… at the time of the protest we contacted over 2000 groups that both Planning and Mast sanity had helped… some more than once.. in theory if they all came and brought a couple of mates we reckoned 10 thou campaigners would have gone to London .. the media certainly believed it possible and so did the police… they knew the extent of local uproar.. however we actually got under 300….considering the hard work that went into organizing it and the cost of the event it was pitiful and both chris and I felt very let down.. it was soul destroying.
Im not saying Im against mass protest again its just you have to be realistic of what you can expect of people … thousands of people fighting masts only 300 ish who thought it worth going to London to protest. Any direct action now HAS to be successful.. the media and industry will keep a very close eye on what goes on..we cant afford to fail again
What Id like to see first is more unity of local groups… more local people meeting together – maybe as branches of mast sanity…. I d love to see people getting more people on this list or At least using our forum.
People working together… people acting as one.. people using their personal talents to forward this very difficult national campaign. Coordinated direct action is impossible unless people are already working together and communicating effectively… organizing and attending big events is daunting for people unused to protesting unless they have local support and are part of the community.
Cheers
LisaO
--------
Lisa.
I have never received the list of numbers to the media you talk about.
18 months ago we were desperately trying to flee our radiated home, after having spent a fortune bying and installing netal netting, led curtains, ferrets to put on every single electricity outlet and so on. And having to acknowledge that this did not help enough to block out the pollution.
We finally found an empty house to move into (and moved in there 18 months ago.) And we were in a pretty bad state, practically not having slept, and having been continuously sick since 7th of August 2003.
And please Lisa, I am not blaming you, mast sanity or anyone in the mast resistance movement.
You helped me to find Dr. Hyland for Expert witness, we had scored the country to try and find one, but no-one was willing. The only one willing was Dr. Santini in France, but our solicitor rejected him.
You sent me information about a solicitor in Birmingham, my husband spoke to him, but felt he seemed very dis-interested,
We could not get legal aid as we had “2 houses” it did not count that we were unable to stay in the contaminated house.
And of course we are challenging the amount.
H3G had already demanded to see our financial status, before they submitted their demand so they knew all about what we had and what we did not have, and where it had gone. They went far past the deadline that had been put to them to deliver the cost demand, and asked for 6 weeks extension and she gave them 3 weeks, but when they delivered the cost demand they gave a 3 week deadline for our new solicitor to deliver the assessment, it she wanted more time we would have to pay them £. 40000.- on account. So much for “Settlement offers”.
They had earlier estimated their legal cost to be £. 233000.- and told the judge they could not see it exceeding that amount, but in reality they almost doubled that amount.
Now they come back and say they would accept less (no numbers), but it is too late for that, if they can accept less they should have asked for less. It makes no difference to us.
I know very well that following principles can be very costly, but we are going to follow that up, no matter what.
They lied in court, repeatedly, and were allowed to get away with it, and the judge was totally biased FOR H3G.
So I am going to do everything I possibly can to hurt them, and highlight what kind of POND-LIFE they really are.
I have nothing more to loose. They stole my health, they stole my home, they stole my life, and changed it for ever. I am really pissed-off, but we will not go down without a stink.
So, if you want to give me a hand, encourage people to write letters to the press and support us.
Mast-sanity has done that on more than one occasion, and I, and everybody else in similar situation could do with that now, to show them lots of people care.
And remember, this is not just about H3G it is about all the operators.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
If I am not mistaken there have been one or two significant cases this year in which European Courts have ruled that cases have not been dealt with lawfully because large multinationals ettc have been favoured by tvirtue of their limitless resources. The MacDonalds two are the most recent, although in their case they were the defendants, but there is also the case of the Cornerhouse Group, who were granted legal funding to take the Government to court for failing in their statutory obligation. Perhaps there is some possibility of pursuing a similar line to recover costs from the Government, as they have failed repeatedly on this issue. I realise that this is a legal minefield, but it's worth investigating. You have my sympathy for the plight that H3G's treachery and the government's ludicrous laws have left you in, but most of all you have my admiration for standing up to them whatever the consequences. I truly hope that there is some way you can recover your costs, as if ever there was a case of someone suffering financial loss because of the Government's failure in their statutory obligations it is yours. I know that there is an area that we can identify in your case inasmuch as the Secretary of State and Ofcom have not complied with one of their statutory obligations to date. I have discussed this briefly with Chris Maile who is going to provide me with some more information on this. Once I have any information that may be of use to you I shall let you know in case you can use it.
Amanda
--------
Dear Amanda.
Thank you for your support, it is truly appreciated.
Support is the most important thing when people are doing such an absolutely stupid thing like we have been and are doing.
But the thing is, you only get one chance of standing up for your self and if you don’t use it, you have wasted it, and it won’t come again.
As I said principles can be costly, but they have harmed us enough, we were not allowed to proof our case in court,
We were not allowed to say anything, unless asked, we were not allowed to point out their lies, (some of which we have written proof for were lies) or put the proof forward.
We have nothing more to loose, so we can just as well give it all we got, and hope to make a real stink, so EVEN the elected members of the British society will notice, and maybe start thinking about doing something about it. Like my MP for one.
If enough people support us with voicing their opinion in form of letters and so on it will be a huge help, and will get noticed.
The more that write in to BBC Midlands today, The Times and the Daily Express the better.
When we saw the draft judgment we drew up a list of corrections, which very well might have changed the verdict, but we were not allowed to deliver it to the judge, although we can now see from the cost demand that H3G are charging us for the time spent making corrections to the draft judgment.
I am already getting huge help from my friends and other people round Europe are working on doing the same.
I have had support from Powerwatch and much more. It is awfully nice and you see you do friends in need.
Hutchison ran a test-case on us to be able to stop everyone else, so lets show the operators that we can unite and turn against them, so that they will see that they had made a BIG MISTAKE.
I have sent the times article to national newspapers in Iceland and Denmark, and am going to send it to all the big newspapers here and in The Nordic countries and Europe that I can find, in the hope that they will take up the issue, as well as all the mast resistance groups that I can find.
Here and elsewhere.
And thank you Amanda for the offer of information, I am sure we can use it and learn from it.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
Lisa, I completely understand and support the fact that Mast Sanity cannot advocate illegal action of any kind. That is a given. What individuals choose to do when up against the illegal bullying tactics of the Ops is of course up to them. You quite rightly state that legal direct action is very effective, especially when carried out en masse.
Should Mast Sanity be advising parents in all its affiliated campaign groups to withdraw their children from schools near masts? Well, that's up to MS. Personally I would say that that would be one of the most powerfully effective actions concerned parents could take. Does MS need to suggest this publicly as a direct action policy? I doubt that it could so even if it wanted to, as it would be considered too contentious, and furthermore, as a 'politically motivated agenda' it would be outside the remit of MS charity status. But it is certainly clear in my mind that such action would bring forward the results we so desperately need. Nothing I can think of would galvanise this Government into action more than seeing thousands of children across the UK removed from their schools because of their proximity to masts. It would be political dynamite, quite possibly resulting in the change in planning policy that they promised and refused to implement.
It was interesting that Ofcom decided to ban the 'Make Poverty History' advert on TV, because it was seen to have a political agenda.
I do of course remember the Mast Sanity march in London - I was there - holding the MS banner up front and throughout the whole of the march! Yes, it was a real shame that so few people turned up. However, that was three years ago, and clearly a great deal has happened in that 3 years. Thanks in great part to Mast Sanity, people are far better informed and active than ever before. We have also been able to convince a lot more politicians, thanks to Amanda. So, although I understand what you're saying, I do believe that we have reached a time when, given direction and support, far more people than you think would be willing to take national direct action. However, it's really not for me to comment, it's just a personal opinion.
You are right that hard pressed and totally committed MS volunteers have far more to do than they can possibly cope with, therefore it is vital that they are kept on board. Speaking personally, I think you must be aware, as I know one or two others are, that my input on any level, has been totally curtailed, and not by me. I am happy to say though, that my newfound freedom 'outside the loop' is not something I would ever want to change!
Jenny
--------
Caroline.
Yes, that is what we are going to do, if and when we get funds.
We fired our solicitor and are waiting for legal aid to find out if we can proof professional negligence against the firm.
At the moment our new solicitor is going through H3Gs cost demand, and I believe by having read and compared different posts, that it might qualify for The title “Fiction of the Century”, but we will see, what our solicitor comes up with.
We will of course also work for getting the right to appeal, and are hoping that the proof for that will come to light when we scrutinize the negligence case.
So, as you see, we are fighting on all fronts.
We are also working hard on trying to keep the press interested.
So, like they say on the news “Keep an eye on this spot”
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
Dear Agnes,
Glad to hear this. I hadn't realised it was your case (backlog of emails to read because of the holidays). My husband, a barrister, was also shocked that the fees were so high. Presumably the fees quoted do not include your own legal costs. He was asking if you had had solicitors advising you; what advice you were given as to the prospects of success; whether you were advised as to the risk of having to pay the other side's costs and what they could be, and whether any consideration was given to contingency fees (no win-no fee). Until I saw that you have new solicitors I was going to say that my husband, formerly a solicitor and now a barrister of 35 years' experience, had offered to look at your file on an informal basis to see if you had a case for negligence. He would then have recommended competent solicitors to help you. He did mention that your previous solicitors should have warned you clearly that you may well be liable for the whole of Hutchison's costs and that if they had real doubt that you would win then they should have advised you to stop. Of course we do not know what advice was or was not given and they may of course be saying that you were fully advised.
We in Winchester used very good lawyers with much experience in mast matters and the relevant law, and this experience and knowledge is vital as it is a very specialist field. Over a period of 4 1/2 years covering legal action up to the House of Lords we were able to use a mixture of full and partial legal aid, no win-no fee, and full fees mostly paid by the community. I think this is the only way to avoid excessive legal bills. It is interesting to note that for no win-no fee generally there has to be a 70% chance of winning and insurance can be taken out to cover the other side's costs if the case is lost. If your solicitors didn't work on a no win-no fee basis because it was thought your chances of success were not high enough, then I would have thought that they should have advised you not to go ahead. Anyway, none of this is advice but concerned comment! I do hope that your new solicitors will be able to retrieve something for you from this mess.
Kind regards
Caroline
--------
Dear Panayis Zambellis Luton,
We do not live there anymore.
In the end we had to abandon our home (and place of work, means we were there 24 hours a day/7 days/week, 365 days/year )
The house is still standing empty 1½ years later. Why I wonder.
I still miss my house awfully.
But we did get lots of measurements on the Com monitor.
With the mast only 28 meters away, our Com monitor lit up like a Xmas tree. (see attached photo, all lights are lit to the top of the scale). http://www.omega-news.info/P1010002.JPG
But the thing is that UMTS is a sinister thing.
It is not the deadly silent radiation of GSM.
It is very noisy indeed. And probably even more deadly than GSM.
I first found out about the noise when they shut the mast down for repairs on the 180804 and then again on the 010904.
It was like coming into the “EYE” of a Tornado, suddenly it was totally quiet after the raging storm.
Erik measured and there was no radiation.
And then suddenly it all started again, and I felt physically that they had turned it on again, Erik measured and it was on again.
But the worst thing is, that we made a lot of effort to shield for the radiation, and managed to shield it away.
But still, sitting in the spots where the beams came into the house we fainted and lost consciousness.
There is still a big mark in the carpet of our TV room where my hot iron fell on the floor and melted the carpet fibre.
We were very lucky that the carpet did not ignite and burn the house down, because we only came to quite a while later, and the room was full of fumes from the melted carpet.
I have never been so scared in my whole life.
Dr. Gerald Hyland went into the house just before our case came to court and measured with his Acousticom, and he said that he had never heard the Acousticom screech like this before.
It was the highest reading he had ever had.
Best regards.
Agnes.
P.S. I have now moved us to a place almost at the top of the “Mountain” Malvern Hills, where there is 1.5 km to the nearest mast. (But even here, surrounded by conservation area of “Outstanding Beauty” where no progress is allowed, there is still a small private area where a greedy private person plays a host to a mast, but as I say 1.5 km away).
--------
Dear Sandy.
Agnes story it only about greedy Telecoms and greedy lawyers wanting money, so why should that have that effect.
It even does not do that to me, and I am Agnes. Money is only money. Money can never replace integrity, principe and ethics.
H3G, and their solicitors, they lied, and they cheated, they even lied in court, where we were not allowed to object.
And I can proof all of it, in their writing.
Some of the lying is coming to light now, very clearly at that, as we are going through their cost claims.
I do not think this will be the last word in this case, which they meant to be a warning to us all.
So, perk up your spirits.
Keep them up. Keep fighting.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
Dear Sweet Agnes,
I was concerned for your illness, your family, and losing your home, so that should have affected me emotionally, and the operator greed should have aroused my anger. You were, and are, a just cause. I was just a little bottled up with so much told to me on the advice line and elsewhere.
I should perhaps explain that I am part Sioux Indian and seem to have inherited the temperament and ways. I am deeply emotional and compassionate, usually calm and peaceful, but can also be fiery, determined, and without fear when I am angry. My spirits are rarely down, I just get on overload sometimes and close down till something stirs my emotions and anger again - then I am back on the warpath.
Sandi
--------
It's great to read these messages. I get despondent occasionally and reading these emails really helps reignite the fighting spirit. Keep up the good work. You are much appreciated.
John Elliott
--------
Sandi
I too get very upset by peoples apathy and mocking attitudes - mainly angry - but also very upset at all the millions of people being made ill by untramelled spread of this most harmful technology.
It's so good to hear the voice of someone who truly cares.
I'm not sure whether the woman I spoke to (about a year ago now) was the Head or a high ranking teacher, so if you contact the Head bear in mind it could be man or woman.
The address is: Carlton Hill Primary School, Sussex Street, Brighton. Tel 01273 604966.
You may tell her that a local researcher (me) has measured the microwaves around the school perimeter on several occasions over the last two years and the readings (at between 3 - 6 volts per metre every time) exceed the Swiss, Italian and Austrian safety limits and are known by scientists worldwide to be at levels causing worrying adverse biological effects.
You can tell her that I am certain these emissions are coming from the masts on top of the police station opposite and that the school, given the signal strength and its position in relation to the masts, could well be smack in the midst of the beam of maximum intensity.
Remind her what Bill Stewart says - under 16s should never use mobiles and masts shouild not be sited near schools etc. Also that study in the North of England which has already in the early stages shown kids going to school with nosebleeds etc
There was another study conducted several years ago now comparing a primary school with a mast on its premises to one without. A questionnaire was completed by about a hundred parents from each school and showed much higher incidences of behavioural and learning problems, regular infections, nausea, headaches, nosebleeds etc etc at the school with the transmitter. If you don't have the details I can look for it for you.
She might want to get an Argus (local paper) reporter on the case. she could try emailing Rachel Pegg, Siobhan Ryan or Jenny Legg at the Argus - email formula is rachel.pegg@theargus.co.uk
Many thanks Sandi,
Gary
--------
Dear Panays.
I live on the Hereford side side of the Malvern Hills. The large mast is on the Worcestershire side very low down on the hill, just above Great Malvern town on the other side of the hill, and we are facing North West I think.
The big transmitter is the main transmitter in the area, but judging from the quality of our TV and radio signals it does not reach us, but the mast in Ledbury does.
Droitwhich (where we lived 30 years ago) is a lot further away than 16 miles. I would think it is nearer 20 miles.
We did measurements in the area here, and could not measure any radiation. There is a small GSM mast here about 1½ miles away on the top of the hill, at a lot higher level and there is one in Chances Pitch, but our new house is shielded by 5 or 6 other houses, and we get no readings.
So far, so lucky, because it is becoming impossible to find a place in Britain where there are no masts, of some kind or the other in the immediate vicinity.
I guess the thing is, we have lived with radio masts since before I was born, and then came GSM, but these have never had any direct impact on us that we could feel, but UMTS is an altogether different cup of tea.
And there is something very sinister about the screaming noise from these masts.
Having one so near as we had feels like being in a raging storm. The noise is unbelieavable.
But thank you for the maps, I will put a cross on the big one to show you where we are now, we are out of the picture on the multi-map townmap.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
Hi Sandy.
I can easily identify with what you say of your temperament. I come from the very far, frozen and volcanic North Atlantic Ocean, (Iceland) and believe I am normally a very peaceful person, cool and collected, but when abused or looking upon abuse of others my temper turns volcanic, and I have no fear either.
I feel, we have been abused and raped by H3G and I will fight them until I drop, and I am not talking about money, money comes and money goes, but our good health, good harmonic and peaceful life in our home has been robbed from us, and that is irretrievable.
And that I cannot forgive.
And having to look upon it being excused by lies in a court of law, which is supposed to look after the rights of the individual against abuse.
And that I can not forgive.
So like my Viking for-fathers, I am now in a state of “Eye for an Eye, tooth for a tooth” frame of mind and will do everything in my power to hurt these people and their organization.
Only, I am not prepared to LIE and CHEAT like they do, but then there is more than enough sleaze, dishonesty and crimes on their CV´s ready to be used, without having to use their dishonest methods.
Best regards.
Agnes
--------
FYI from Jenny.
Below is the letter I'm sending to George Young, Blair and the ODPM. I have included Don's excellent article 'Has British Labour forgotten the lesson from BSE? http://omega.twoday.net/stories/990190/
Dear Sir George,
Forgive me for contacting you again so soon, but I felt the enclosed Mast Sanity PR and other information, might be of interest to you. Don Maisch (EMfacts Consultancy) is a Trustee of Mast Sanity. He is based in Australia.
I am in touch with Agnes Ingvarsdottir and this is a truly shocking case. She and her husband were forced to leave their much loved home because of the severe illness which they both began to suffer after a 3G mast was erected opposite their house. They became so ill with radiation sickness that they finally gave up the struggle and put the house on the market. Because of the mast it was devalued by £50,000! In short, their lives have been torn apart. Sadly they are not alone – this is happening all over the country.
Mr & Mrs Ingvarsdottir bravely decided to ‘take on’ H3G, with the all too predictable consequences. Some time ago a telecom operator came under fire when they tried to prevent a court case by means of ‘corporate blackmail’ ie a blatant attempt to terrify the complainants into submission by threats of huge legal costs. It is a well known tactic of the Mobile Phone Industry, to scare off anyone who might contemplate similar action.
The couple, victims of the company’s ‘dirty tricks’, are facing nearly half a million in legal costs – costs which soared as H3G deliberately strung out the process, their lawyers conducting the equivalent of political filibustering. Under no circumstances can such intimidation by a global giant be condoned. We might as well be living in a third world dictatorship, where the poor have no justice and the law is hijacked by the rich and powerful.
Logic dictates that if the telecoms had nothing to fear regarding the safety of the technology, they would not have to resort to such extreme and ruthless measures - the science would uphold their argument. But it doesn’t, and this is the whole point. No wonder then, that they have to inflict Mafia-like intimidation to prevent due process, and the truth from being heard. Technology can be wonderful, and Big Business is undoubtedly vital to any economy, but it profits no-one when it destroys local democracy, trust in politicians, and puts the whole country at risk by jeopardising public health and safety.
Now that the HPA has established that masts cause biological damage to health far below ICNIRP guidelines, it is clear that the Government must urgently change planning regulations to fully protect citizens against long term, biological damage from mast emissions.
ICNIRP IS NO PROTECTION AND SHOULD NO LONGER BE USED AS THE SOLE ARBITER OF SAFETY BY GOVERNMENT OR INDUSTRY.
There is one final comment I would like to make Sir George, and it’s this. Almost every community and LPA in the land is struggling with the telecom dilemma. Our government has abandoned its principles, polluted the environment and sacrificed the present and future health of the nation – all for profit and greed.
I genuinely believe that any party that wants to win the next election, could do no better than to face this issue head on – publicly and with moral resolve. The telecom industry has unfettered power, but it cannot elect governments. Only people can do that.
I intend to send this letter to others, so please feel free to show it to your parliamentary colleagues. I’m sure you’ll agree that the public deserves transparency and clarity on the views of their MP’s, on this subject.
Kind regards,
Jennifer (Godschall Johnson)
Starmail - 14. Sep, 09:55
