Gareth Williams (Inquest); Leading article; The Independent decries "sham openness." Says justified public curiosity must be satisfied.

STORY: "Leading article: Sham openness will not satisfy justified curiosity," published by the Independent on April 24, 2012.

GIST: "Thus it was a positive start when the Coroner insisted yesterday that all evidence would be heard in public. Or it would have been, if that was what was really going to happen. In fact, the Coroner also said that some witnesses would testify anonymously and some information would be withheld because of the "real risk of harm" to national security and the public interest. She said that "gists" of withheld evidence would be revealed. Er, not so positive then. That openness has become the buzzword of the day, even in sensitive court cases, is a move in the right direction. But that openness has to be real, otherwise it is just secrecy and obfuscation dressed up to please the crowd."

THE FULL LEADING ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-sham-openness-will-not-satisfy-justified-curiosity-7670593.htML

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;