'Vile' Oakley escapes jail
6:10pm Monday 13th October 2008
Comments (27)Shamed Watford Conservative Ian Oakley was spared jail this afternoon by St Albans magistrates.
Oakley, who perpetrated a three-year hate campaign against leading Liberal Democrats in Watford, has been handed an 18 week suspended jail sentence this afternoon.
He also received a 12 month supervision order.
Magistrates heard Oakley had a history of mental health problems but declined to send him to prison, as they had threatened to previously.
In passing sentence, chairman on the magistrates, Mr Barry Northrop, told Oakley his offences had been “planned” and that he had “completely ignored the obvious distress they would cause to his victims”.
He said his vicious campaign had been especially serious because it had taken place within a “political context” and because he had attempted to “subvert the democratic process”.
Mr Northrop said: “The abuse you used in some cases was particularly vile and we can not ignore the fact that it was your motivation to interfere with the democratic process.”
He told a forlorn looking Oakley, who hung his head in shame during the proceedings, he had been given credit for an early guilty plea and accepted the former politician’s remorse was “full”.
Oakley was then hounded by photographers as he walked free from court into St Albans high street.
After watching Oakley receive his sentence Sal Brinton, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Watford and the target of so much of Oakley’s attention, said she was “relieved” by the sentence.
She did, however, once again call for the Conservative Party to investigate how Oakley was able to get away with his campaign for so long.
Hertfordshire police has this afternoon released CCTV footage of Oakley carrying out one of his acts of vandalism.
Your Say YourWatford Observer
JonBoy, Watford says...
4:40pm Mon 13 Oct 08
Tudor247, Watford says...
5:28pm Mon 13 Oct 08
It does sound a bit soft bearing in mind who he is and how long he was actively doing this.
barts, watford says...
5:43pm Mon 13 Oct 08
Mr Oakley obviously fits in well within this culture as it is well known that the clinical psychiatric/psycholo
gical establishment there is amoral, immoral, unprincipled, unprofessional, elitist and corrupt.
Mr Oakley’s aberrant, deviant and criminal behaviour is deemed understandable, explicable and to some extent excusable – especially since he is middle class and part of the establishment. In this upside down world, where senior clinical professionals long ago abandoned the concepts of right and wrong, it is hardly surprising that they have rallied round to defend and excuse one of their own.
If Mr Oakley was known to have a history of mental illness and was taking psychiatric medication, why wasn’t he diverted out of the criminal justice system and sectioned using mental health legislation incorporating legal restrictions e.g. Section 37/41? If his campaign lasted for 3 years, why did no psychiatric professionals notice?
No, Mr Oakley’s legal defence team simply played the ‘psychiatric card’ and Hillingdon psychiatric services were happy to supply a psychiatric report and help get him off. It’s business as usual in Hillindon!
hystericool, garston says...
6:23pm Mon 13 Oct 08
JonBoy wrote:Lets all not get carried away here,he has no criminal record and pled guilty and like most other criminals has been let off the hook.Or would you rather have one rule for Tories and another for everyone else.If he was a member of my family i would be mighty upset if he was sent down for criminal damage and name calling.
This is a disgrace. What do you have to do to get yourself imprisoned? This sentence sends out entirely the wrong message.
Anyone who thinks back scratching dosent go on is deluded,it happens everyday of the week,so why the surprise?unless politically motivated,whereas all your opinions matter not.
Jonboy,what a plum you are,try dipping your toe into reality.How can you assume this man was going to jail when you clearly know diddly squat about sentencing.People stay out of jail for a lot worse crimes,believe me.
Tudor 247,it should not make one iota of difference who commited the crime if you want a fair judiciary.
Thanks for the offer Molly but i think i'll pass...............i
m scared to close my eyes now,the thought of it....
Molly Newman, Watford says...
7:21pm Mon 13 Oct 08
hystericool, garston says...
7:31pm Mon 13 Oct 08
Molly Newman wrote:You really are deluded Molly.Now sit down and think about what you have said.Say the words out loud in you single track mind " He was trying to change the way people vote by intimidation".Explai
Actually the worse thing about this is the fact it was politically motivated. He was trying to change the way people vote by intimidation. Once you let that sort of thing happen you are on a slippery slope. Revealing that the local Tory party haven't said or done anything about this. Probably because they know he wasn't acting alone and are frightened of the consequences of doing the decent thing.
n how that works as the general public (thats the voters to you)are only just getting snippets of details.Me being a NORMAL thinking guy would probably conclude this would have the OPPOSITE effect and bring out the sympathy voters but as usual Molly takes a wrong turn,again.Molly needs to get out more so i suggest a long walk.....without the muzzle..
Arthur, Garston says...
10:09pm Mon 13 Oct 08
Wilkinson, Watford says...
10:10pm Mon 13 Oct 08
Flyonthewall, Watford says...
10:16pm Mon 13 Oct 08
JonBoy, Watford says...
10:25pm Mon 13 Oct 08
Hystericool doth protest too much methinks, he is a genuine prune.
Molly Newman, Watford says...
11:00pm Mon 13 Oct 08
And of course there are more than 50 crimes still unaccounted for, so other Tories must have been involved.
Hikari Warrior, here or there says...
11:22pm Mon 13 Oct 08
An aspiring politician should be beyond reproach and an example to all!
How can the terms of this sentance be described as a punishment? I respect the fact that there was a guilty plea, but there were over 60 offences asked to be taken into consideration, plus of course the ones he was charged with!
I bet that the "report" makes good reading!
hystericool, garston says...
6:52am Tue 14 Oct 08
JonBoy wrote:JonBOY thinks he's Shakespear and i have to admit,your views seem that olde worlde lol.I understand there is CRIME,thats it,crime is crime,end of.I'm not protesting at all,im just pointing out that as much as certain people wanted it,he was not going to be hung.
Hystericool is a fool if he can't understand the difference between crime per se and politically motivated crime. It doesn't matter whether vile Oakley would have changed opinion or not it is the intent when he perpetrated the crime that makes this deserving of a custodial sentence.
Hystericool doth protest too much methinks, he is a genuine prune.
Like Arthur quite rightly points out,3 drink driving offences is usually followed by a custodial sentence,yet old soak hanlon gets away with it even though the third offence was committed whilst still on bail for the second offence.Is there a flurry of protest to have him locked up........diddly squat from the lot of ya,priceless
As for the amount of offences,every day at court some little toerag gets a slap on the wrist for thieving with god knows how many offences taken into concideration but not punished.So you see he is being treated the SAME as everyone else....leniantly
Hikari Warrior: What planet are you from? "An aspiring politician should be beyond reproach and an example to all!" Where have you been ? Polititions are the most corrupt,grubbing,nes
t feathering,thieving toerags going,beyond reproach lol,dont make me laugh,this is the sort of behaviour we should EXPECT from polititians.....
Hikari Warrior, here or there says...
8:55am Tue 14 Oct 08
On that basis how can any sane person justify an 18 week suspended sentence?
Added to the fact that Hanlon escaped jail as well says to me that perhaps the magistrates should be the ones locked up instead!
HertsPeter, Watford says...
9:04am Tue 14 Oct 08
hystericool, garston says...
9:21am Tue 14 Oct 08
Wilkinson wrote:I agree with what your saying to a degree but NOBODY has been jailed for not being able to afford the council tax,they are jailed after it has been established they can afford it but refuse to pay it.You really should'nt believe everything the press report.
The establishment continues to look after it's own, yet they would put a pensioner in jail if they could not afford to pay the council tax............
hystericool, garston says...
9:38am Tue 14 Oct 08
Hikari Warrior wrote:Spot on Hikari about the magistrates,they are cardboard stiffs with no grasp of reality but until we have proffessional,traine
I don't disagree with what you say hystericool, but isn't that how politicians see themselves? Isn't that how they really should be?
On that basis how can any sane person justify an 18 week suspended sentence?
Added to the fact that Hanlon escaped jail as well says to me that perhaps the magistrates should be the ones locked up instead!
d in law magistrates,this is what we have come to expect from an amateur judiciary
This was his FIRST offence so there was no way he was going down when the prisons are full and a decent defence team behind him.
IMO there is no way he should have gone to prison for what i see as minor offences.Im sure the recipient sees it differently but you could say the same about any crime against the person.In a nutshell he would have taken a cell that could have been home to a carreer criminal who might otherwise be given a non-custodial sentence
One more thing that makes me chuckle is why on earth is Sal Briton asking the Tories to investigate why this went on for so long when it took the Police 3 years to catch him.On the same note i would ask the lib dems why they had a convicted drink driver as a councillor,but then we all know the lib dems like a drinky poo lol
Arthur, Garston says...
5:53pm Tue 14 Oct 08
Speedydog, Aquadrome says...
11:23am Wed 15 Oct 08
Jimbobfury, Watford says...
11:46am Wed 15 Oct 08
hystericool, garston says...
2:23pm Wed 15 Oct 08
ab11uk, watford says...
10:39am Thu 16 Oct 08
Speedydog, Aquadrome says...
11:15pm Thu 16 Oct 08
hystericool wrote:I never complained about you, I like you, you show everyone how blinkered you are. Bet that gets a response!!lol.
Speedy,i never hide,im in ya face.Ive been jocked off as Barbelybob,jocked off as Meridanny so know im back as Hystericool.So as you can probably tell,i aint shutting up.My opinions are just as valid as anyones but the odd couple,not nessessarily yourself,keep moaning to the powers that be ,to get them to sensor me.Id rather that was done by debate or even arguement,not underhand tactics.
PS haven't got to the CE salary story yet, trying to find out the truth, cause you cant believe all you read in newspapers.
hystericool, garston says...
6:04am Fri 17 Oct 08
You wont find anything to get your teeth into as the whole charade was behind closed doors and the press banned,nice and open.
Spencer Agneau, Sarratt says...
10:13am Sat 18 Oct 08
Speedydog, Aquadrome says...
5:54pm Sat 18 Oct 08
Lets get back to the nitty gritty, wasn't Oakley one for stiffer sentencing?
Hertfordshire police have released CCTV footage of the Tories' former prospective parliamentary candidate for Watford Ian Oakley
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Molly Newman, Watford says...
4:33pm Mon 13 Oct 08