Simon Walsh – a 49-year-old lawyer who sat on the mayor of London’s Fire Authority and is a City Alderman – was charged with five counts of possessing extreme images under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. But a jury at London’s Kingston Crown Court took just 90 minutes to acquit Mr Walsh, triggering a blitz of criticism from him and his lawyers of the prosecutors and the law itself.
Consensual sexual acts
According to Samira Noor-Khan, a partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, the London firm acting for the barrister, the case ‘highlights the dreadful state of affairs where people can be prosecuted for possessing images of adults legally participating in consensual sexual acts’.
Mr Walsh’s lawyer went on to point out that his ‘personal life was placed under extreme scrutiny and his career ruined on the basis of a handful of images found on his email server. Cases of this nature must be defended robustly to ensure no-one is convicted of possessing such images’.
Police prosecutions
Myles Jackman, a consultant at the firm, said: ‘Fortunately the jury were able to apply their common sense and reject an intrusive and unfounded prosecution of material depicting private and consensual sexual acts between adults.’
A report in the Pink News pointed out that Mr Walsh -- formerly a tenant barrister at London’s 5 Essex Court Chambers – had in the past specialised in prosecuting police officers accused of disciplinary offences. However, a CPS representative strongly denied that the lawyer’s professional history in that field had impacted on the decision to prosecute.
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