Michelle Bates

[buddy]

The sister of Barry George, Michelle Bates has come out in support of Jeremy Bamber.
Barry George was wrongly convicted of murdering Jill Dando., who's conviction was quashed in 2008.
Ms Bates has written a blog dedicated to the Bamber case which was released to mark the anniversary of his conviction.
I suspect she is not fully aware of the facts.

[Steve_uk]

The sister of Barry George, Michelle Bates has come out in support of Jeremy Bamber.
Barry George was wrongly convicted of murdering Jill Dando., who's conviction was quashed in 2008.
Ms Bates has written a blog dedicated to the Bamber case which was released to mark the anniversary of his conviction.
I suspect she is not fully aware of the facts.

No I don't think she is either. There's another thread on this written a few days ago.

[lookout]

The sister of Barry George, Michelle Bates has come out in support of Jeremy Bamber.
Barry George was wrongly convicted of murdering Jill Dando., who's conviction was quashed in 2008.
Ms Bates has written a blog dedicated to the Bamber case which was released to mark the anniversary of his conviction.
I suspect she is not fully aware of the facts.

What facts are those ?

[Steve_uk]

What facts are those ?

Well there was no Sky TV reporting on a siege situation for a start..

[lookout]

Well there was no Sky TV reporting on a siege situation for a start..

Was she under the impression that there was,or had been ?

[Steve_uk]

Was she under the impression that there was,or had been ?

No but there was some remark that she'd been following the story by the hour (or some such formulation of words) which unless she'd been a local I doubt could have occurred.

[Stephanie]

The sister of Barry George, Michelle Bates has come out in support of Jeremy Bamber.
Barry George was wrongly convicted of murdering Jill Dando., who's conviction was quashed in 2008.
Ms Bates has written a blog dedicated to the Bamber case which was released to mark the anniversary of his conviction.
I suspect she is not fully aware of the facts.

Out of interest Buddy, do you think Barry George is innocent or guilty?

And do you think Jeremy Bamber is aware of the facts regarding the George case?

[lookout]

I'm not even going to discuss this poor woman------I'll be e-mailing her !

[Caroline]

Out of interest Buddy, do you think Barry George is innocent or guilty?

And do you think Jeremy Bamber is aware of the facts regarding the George case?

Not sure why it's surprising that someone involved in a MOJ, is getting involved or declaring support for an alleged MOJ? Or even what difference it makes?

[lilly15]

I don't think it is at all surprising, Having gone through an ordeal gives greater understanding and insight into the plight of others

[Stephanie]

I don't think it is at all surprising, Having gone through an ordeal gives greater understanding and insight into the plight of others

To what plight do you refer?

Jeremy Bamber is guilty!

[sandra L]

Explaining why he doesn't think Michelle Bates is fully aware of the facts of the Jeremy Bamber case, steve-uk said

Well there was no Sky TV reporting on a siege situation for a start..

and

... there was some remark that she'd been following the story by the hour (or some such formulation of words) which unless she'd been a local I doubt could have occurred

"Following" doesn't just mean watching though, does it? It was a massive story as it unfolded at the time, the headline story of every radio news bulletin (on the hour). Breakfast tv  ran from 6.30 to 9am, and, of course, the story was also headline news on the lunchtime and evening news. Since officers didn't enter the farmhouse until 7.35am, there was, indeed, what was believed to be a "siege" situation, or at least a "stand-off" situation in that there was believed, at the time, to be someone with a gun, or with easy access to a gun, and householders inside the house in danger from that gun. In that respect, it was similar in nature to the Iranian Embassy siege, just 5 years earlier - police officers had to weigh up the risks to the persons inside the building with any attempts by them (police officers) to enter the building.

It was 1985 - we weren't totally reliant on Sky to provide us with hour to hour coverage of breaking news stories, but that doesn't mean it wasn't available to us. And, since I was in Scotland, so certainly not local, the assumption that Michelle could only have been following hourly updates if she was local is incorrect.

[Steve_uk]

Explaining why he doesn't think Michelle Bates is fully aware of the facts of the Jeremy Bamber case, steve-uk said
 and

"Following" doesn't just mean watching though, does it? It was a massive story as it unfolded at the time, the headline story of every radio news bulletin (on the hour). Breakfast tv  ran from 6.30 to 9am, and, of course, the story was also headline news on the lunchtime and evening news. Since officers didn't enter the farmhouse until 7.35am, there was, indeed, what was believed to be a "siege" situation, or at least a "stand-off" situation in that there was believed, at the time, to be someone with a gun, or with easy access to a gun, and householders inside the house in danger from that gun. In that respect, it was similar in nature to the Iranian Embassy siege, just 5 years earlier - police officers had to weigh up the risks to the persons inside the building with any attempts by them (police officers) to enter the building.

It was 1985 - we weren't totally reliant on Sky to provide us with hour to hour coverage of breaking news stories, but that doesn't mean it wasn't available to us. And, since I was in Scotland, so certainly not local, the assumption that Michelle could only have been following hourly updates if she was local is incorrect.

The way her story comes across seems false to me. There were no news cameras to witness someone pacing back and forth in an upstairs window. There were no hourly bulletins on television or radio dissecting the latest developments as they unfolded. The whole tale has been regaled in order to get her into the limelight to flog any forthcoming book. Had she been a resident of Witham or some local village I might just have accepted what she said.

Judge for yourself:


Becoming aware of a breaking-news story I began to listen in more closely. A siege was taking place at a farmhouse in England. The broadcaster relayed that five people were inside and there was great fear for their safety. As the story unfolded it became apparent that this was an older couple. A farmer and retired Magistrate, Nevill Bamber and his wife, June; their daughter, Sheila, and her six year old twin sons. Jeremy, their son, was outside with police who were trying to communicate with someone inside the house who had been seen pacing back and forth in front of an upstairs window and carrying a firearm. The reporter said that police were reluctant to get too close to the house for fear of causing that person to become more agitated, thereby, escalating the danger to the family. I watched for an hour or so but there was no resolution and, heavily pregnant, I became exhausted and had to go off to bed.


Awaking early I was anxious for news, hopefully of a rescue, so I put the News on immediately. The siege was over, police had stormed the house and five bodies had been found inside. I was heartbroken, a whole family! My heart went out to the young man who had waited all night long with the police for news of his family; this was not what he wanted to hear.

[sandra L]

There were no news cameras to witness someone pacing back and forth in an upstairs window.

Perhaps, perhaps not. It doesn't seem like there is any surviving video/photographic evidence (if, I happily concede, there ever was any).

But the police statements and reports themselves suggest that such a thing (or a variant of it) was the exact reason why it took so long for them to enter the house. It's entirely possible, of course, that this scenario was being reported verbally, in radio news, or even as part of television news (but without visual footage), which matches the excerpt from Michelle's comments you have posted.

Firstly, she says " began to listen in more closely - it is during this listening that she reports hearing the information about the police being outside with Jeremy, someone pacing around inside with a gun, and police officers trying to speak to someone inside the farmhouse.

All of that, to my knowledge, appears in the various statements. She then says, "I watched for an hour or so...."

So that would match the time of Breakfast TV coming on at 6.30 - by the time she had to go to bed, "there was no resolution" - if Michelle stopped watching at around 7.30 and went to bed, there would have been "no resolution" by then.

Back in 1985, my alarm for getting up in the morning was the radio. We had to wait for breakfast TV to see breaking stories we may have heard some hours earlier on the radio (I got up at 5am in those days.)

While Michelle's account may seem "false" by today's standards of 24 hour, worldwide, instantly accessible news, her account is entirely in line with 30+ years ago news coverage.

[Stephanie]

Perhaps, perhaps not. It doesn't seem like there is any surviving video/photographic evidence (if, I happily concede, there ever was any).

But the police statements and reports themselves suggest that such a thing (or a variant of it) was the exact reason why it took so long for them to enter the house. It's entirely possible, of course, that this scenario was being reported verbally, in radio news, or even as part of television news (but without visual footage), which matches the excerpt from Michelle's comments you have posted.

Firstly, she says " began to listen in more closely - it is during this listening that she reports hearing the information about the police being outside with Jeremy, someone pacing around inside with a gun, and police officers trying to speak to someone inside the farmhouse.

All of that, to my knowledge, appears in the various statements. She then says, "I watched for an hour or so...."

So that would match the time of Breakfast TV coming on at 6.30 - by the time she had to go to bed, "there was no resolution" - if Michelle stopped watching at around 7.30 and went to bed, there would have been "no resolution" by then.

Back in 1985, my alarm for getting up in the morning was the radio. We had to wait for breakfast TV to see breaking stories we may have heard some hours earlier on the radio (I got up at 5am in those days.)

While Michelle's account may seem "false" by today's standards of 24 hour, worldwide, instantly accessible news, her account is entirely in line with 30+ years ago news coverage.

My advice, which will, of course, go completely unheeded, would be, Put the shovel down.