Video summary
The speaker recounts a harrowing three-and-a-half-year ordeal that began in family court and escalated into criminal charges, detailing a situation where he was separated from his son after paying significant monthly support. He describes a relationship marked by severe domestic incidents, including physical violence against his property and the theft of money, yet notes that police were never contacted during the entire duration of the relationship or immediately afterward. Despite his efforts to maintain contact with his child and his lack of any prior convictions for domestic abuse, the legal process turned into a nightmare involving social work reports, background checks, and allegations of DNA tampering, all while he faced substantial financial burdens including over £60,000 in court fees.
The core of his argument focuses on the perceived imbalance within the Scottish legal system under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act, where mere accusations are sufficient to charge a man without immediate police involvement or corroborating evidence such as injuries or dates. He highlights that once accused, the burden shifts entirely to him to prove his innocence, a dynamic he describes as placing men immediately on the defensive. This process led to widespread media coverage of unproven allegations, resulting in the loss of brand deals, sponsors, and the cancellation of a tour he had worked toward for eight years, effectively destroying his reputation before any trial took place.
During the summary case trial, which was decided by a judge rather than a jury, the speaker points out inconsistencies in the court's findings where the judge deemed the accuser credible on some points but not others, despite her testimony being the primary evidence presented. He emphasizes that he never appeared in court for the sentencing phase of this specific charge and did not testify, relying instead on nine witnesses who were willing to support him, yet he was still convicted based on the limited accusations that stuck. He argues that the media's portrayal focused exclusively on the accusations while ignoring the lack of physical evidence or police records from the relationship, leading to a tarnished character assassination that he believes is common for men in similar situations.
Despite being convicted and facing public scrutiny, the speaker maintains his innocence and refuses to shy away from the truth, asserting that the system allows anyone to make false claims with severe consequences for the accused. He concludes by urging people to read court documents carefully to see the full context beyond the headlines and warns that independent platforms are crucial for allowing individuals to tell their side of the story without it being twisted. Ultimately, he states that this experience has not broken him but rather fueled his resolve to continue his work as an independent journalist and advocate, promising that this is not the end of his journey despite the conviction.
Read the full video transcript
So, 3 and 1/2 years, and I can
eventually now tell my side of the
story, what I went through in the family
court and then the criminal court. Look,
the media are always going to print what
they want.
But, thankfully, I have a big enough
platform that I can have a say from my
side, and I can tell you what the media
didn't print.
So, I was in a very short relationship
with someone who fell pregnant
instantly. But, while in this very short
relationship, I had holes punched in my
wall, I had a knife stuck through my
wall,
and I had 25 grand stole. I had blocked
this person while she was pregnant. Her
and her mom reached out to my family to
let them know my son was born.
I still wanted to be a part of my son's
life. Anyone who knows me knows I am a
family man.
Started getting a bond and a
relationship with my son for the first 3
months of his life. I was paying this
individual 3 and 1/2 thousand pound per
month. Again, this is all in the
criminal court documents.
After 3 months,
there was discussion of more money. I
says no.
I went away for work. As soon as I come
back, there was no more contact with my
son. There was no updates, no videos, no
photos, and I couldn't see him.
I went down the legal route.
Bearing in mind, there was never any
police phoned during this relationship
or after it. Not until I was going
through the family courts. It was me who
went down the legal route. I went down
to the family courts, which then turned
into a 3 and 1/2 year nightmare. So,
while going through the family courts,
you work with someone called Cafcass.
Again, that's for a different story.
So, they do background checks. They do
social work reports. I have two kids at
15 and 16. Not once has social work ever
been involved in their life. Background
checks check the convictions. I don't
have one conviction of domestic abuse.
I'm 42 years on this planet. So, I
wasn't a danger to women or children.
So, I was going to get joint custody.
Again, that's when things changed. So,
what should have what turned out should
have been a one-day trial turned into
over a year and a half, where there also
tampering with DNA not once but twice.
I was 60,000 pound I had to pay the
family courts.
Again with the tampering with the DNA,
no DNA fraud or no contempt of court. As
soon as accusations are made against a
man, it's the man that's straight in the
back foot. Now, I'm not here to target
every woman and say every woman is bad,
but I can also assure you not every man
is bad.
So, you're going through family courts
again, it's a crazy procedure.
I ended this relationship in June 2023.
The family court trial started in June
2024.
While going through trial, she needed
legal aid.
To get legal aid, you needed a domestic
charge.
People might want to look that up.
Believe me, don't believe me. I'm not
asked. I can only say it from my side.
So, while going through family courts
and then during the trial was then
stopped so she could get legal aid.
Police were contacted in the July 2024.
I was charged for a domestic in
September 2024, over 1 year after I
ended the relationship. There was a
thing in Scotland called DASA, which is
a Scottish which is the domestic
domestic abuse Scottish Act, I think.
So, DASA is now
if you're in a relationship, say for
instance, between 20
20 to 2023, somebody can make
accusations all through that
relationship and you'll be charged. It's
your job to prove your innocence. So, in
Scotland now, it's accusations are now
enough to get the man charged. Let me
repeat that. Accusations are enough to
get the man charged. So,
she could have says anything and it
would have been all over the papers. She
could have made a thousand accusations
and it would have been all over the
papers. Men need to be worried,
especially in Scotland. In fact, ladies,
if you have a brother or a son, you
should also be worried because women can
say anything and it's the man's job now
to prove his innocence. Now, I've got a
daughter, a mother, a sister. I'm all
for women's rights, but when you are at
the brunt end of it and know how
dodgy the system is,
it's difficult cuz like I've said
earlier, as soon as accusations are
made, the man's straight in the back
foot. So, he's dealing with the family
courts, and then I get charged 1 year
later. I was then placed all over the
media, James English beats pregnant ex.
Her accusation was she was kicked out of
bed. 4 weeks later she done a pregnancy
test and found out she was pregnant.
Again, accusation, James being English
beats up pregnant ex. I would put that
up there with a nonce, beating
up pregnant women. But I was one charge
it is, it's a summary case, meaning it's
the lowest crime and they should have
caught it as a summary. It's not a judge
or jury, it's a judge's decision.
A jury would have benefited me because
there'd be more people looking at it.
Um, so while going through the sort of
process all over the media,
they print the accusations. So, you're
already As soon as the
accusations come out, I lost brand
deals, sponsors, had to cancel a UK tour
that I've worked 8 years towards. I was
180 grand, family court fees, criminal
court fees.
So, accusations are all over the media,
and it's my job now to defend them. So,
it's 19 accusations, one charge. It's
one domestic charge, not 19 charges. So,
if someone makes a 100 accusations,
you only need two of those accusations
to stick for you to be convicted. So, I
had 19. While going through this trial,
it's not a judge or jury like I've said,
it's only a judge. So, she only gave
evidence. Her
testimony is the evidence. So,
it's whether the judge believes it or
not. So, out of the 19 accusations, he
never believed 13 but believed six. He
believed the worst ones.
But yet, no evidence, no police
involvement during the relationship, no
injuries, no time or dates of any of
these accusations. I should never have
been charged, never been convicted. But,
it is what it is, it's a judge's
decision,
and there's nothing I can do about that,
but I don't have to agree with it.
So, while going through
the criminal court,
media is there every day, but as soon as
she's getting cross-examined, no media.
No media whatsoever. So, my side was
never getting out, and plus I never gave
evidence because we were so confident in
this
I didn't give my side of the story, and
I had nine witnesses that didn't take
the stand either because there was
nothing to go against. All it is is an
accusations
and someone getting charged a year
later. Like I've said, there's no police
phone during the relationship, no
injuries, no times, no dates, no
nothing.
And look at the way the media has
portrayed me, the assassination of
character, the tarnishing the name.
It is what it is, but if you look at the
small print, no injuries, no times, no
dates, but yet the judge picked The
judge never believed her in 13, but then
says
"I find her credible."
But believe six. Surely if you find her
credible, you'd believe everything.
In my own opinion.
So, I was then convicted.
I wasn't even at court, which is strange
because I'm in London just now, I'm
working. So, the judge says he didn't
need me there here
because it was a summary, so I'm
thinking sweet, it must be Surely if
he's going to convict me, he would want
me there, but he didn't. And then I find
out I got a guilty. So,
it is what it is. I'm not going to shy
away from it. There's so much more to
this story than what the media want to
believe you to believe.
People are always going to believe any
negative against you because they don't
like you. Bottom line is I'm an
independent journalist. I interview who
I want, when I want. That won't change.
I believe we should be
supporting independent um platforms
because one day you might need that that
family member, that friend might need
that to tell things from their side
without things getting twisted. Now,
just look what the media has done to me.
Look what they're doing, and I guarantee
it's going to happen to a lot more
people. So, people need to be wary of
what's to come because if they want you,
they'll find something to get you on.
And like I say, I'm not shying away. I'm
tired of men getting over and
then they're doing videos crying like
they've done something wrong. I should
have never been charged, never mind
convicted. This has been 3 and 1/2 years
of the family court stuff to then the
criminal court stuff. Like I've said,
there was never any corpus wasn't during
the relationship. And people will say,
"Oh, does it mean stuff didn't happen?"
Okay, sweet. So, that means if there's
no corpus ever found during the
relationship, that everybody's guilty.
Doesn't make sense. All you need to do
is look into the facts, look into the
the court documents, look into the
evidence. It is absolute madness, but
like I say, accusations are enough to
get the man charged. People might think,
"Oh, he's finished. He's this and that."
I can assure you, this won't be the last
you see me. I'm still going to keep
doing what I'm doing. If anything, it's
just fueled me to keep raising the bar
and show what can be done. People can
make their own assumptions. You've got a
conviction,
but the truth is there for people to see
in black and white if you read the small
print and actually go down. If you
understand what actually went happened.
All I wanted to do was see my son, and
it's been a 3 and 1/2 year
nightmare. That's all I wanted to do.
And look what it turned into.