Thank You… in helping My Fight for Justice!

Last year, I started a campaign about My Fight for Justice and this included using Indiegogo – an international crowdfunding site where anyone can raise money for film, music, art, charity and more.

This was as a result of my being diagnosed with depression after experiencing racism and homophobia in my work as a detective with the Metropolitan Police, with Scotland Yard then leaking my private data to The Sun newspaper – a tabloid of News Corporation and Rupert Murdoch – in an attempt to discredit me and stop my complaints of discrimination within the police being heard.

The newspaper then threatened to out me as a gay man with depression, serving as an intelligence officer.

On 17 September 2012, I represented myself at the British Employment Appeal Court having challenged the Police Commissioner at an Employment Court.

Prior to this, the lower court had ruled that I had been subjected to direct discrimination, harassment and victimisation within the MPS on the grounds of my race and sexual orientation and that the Force did leak my private data to The Sun.

I wrote on Indiegogo about needing help, having become legally unrepresented in my continuing court action.

People from different parts of the world helped me with funding, some raised the awareness of My Fight for Justice campaign to help remove the stigma of discrimination and mental health, others followed me on Twitter @kevin_maxwell and LIKEed my Facebook page and visited my website at www.kevinmaxwell.co.uk – finding out a little more about me.

One amazing thing that came from my looking for help was, a friend putting me in contact with Jason McCue of McCue & Partners LLP. He and his team have represented me since, in my pursuit of justice.

Today, I finished the 3-day appeal hearing which the Commissioner of Police challenged against the findings of the original court.

The Honourable Mr Justice and his colleagues at the employment appeal court – Judge and Panel – heard arguments for upholding the original judgment from my Counsel and those from the Met for quashing it.

Naturally, my case is to uphold the original ruling because I have already endured a 6-week trial with a judgment being made.

The Commissioner didn’t like it.

Whatever the higher appeal court decides having heard the arguments over the past three days I will know that I did the right thing in challenging discrimination within the police and will strive to keep on doing it wherever I can.

It is not acceptable to uphold the laws of the land, and break them when you choose to do so.

No one is above the law.

The people through Parliament decide the laws, with the court’s ruling upon them.

My faith and hope in the British Justice System remains, as it is the only thing black and/or gay people like me can rely on to protect our fundamental Human Rights – like, not being violated because of one’s race and/or sexuality.

It has to work for people like me because if it doesn’t, what redress is there having been treated so awfully at work or elsewhere?

If the Employment Appeal Court does not uphold what another court has already decided in my case, then of course I am going to be disappointed.

However, I believe I have fought a good and clean fight against the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis within the law even though the actions of him and his officers have often not been within it.

As I have now concluded this particular chapter with the full hearing having just taken place, I wanted to take this opportunity as promised to say THANK YOU publicly to those who supported me on Indiegogo and are okay with me mentioning their names within my social media. *Some, chose not to.

This case started out about me, but it has become much bigger. Not through exaggeration, but through the belief that if you are discriminated against for ANY reason the courts will send out a clear message that it is NOT acceptable in the 21st Century and especially by those we trust to protect our rights and freedoms.

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis v K MaxwellIndiegogo Funders

Royston Ford
Reema Vedhara
10,000 Same-Sex Couples e-Magazine
Prossy Kakooza
Peter Wear
Andrew Gilliver
Claire Aze
Michael S. Anthony
Hender Works
Lance Dyer
Nicholas Green
Lucas Hernandez-Garcia
Kevin Evans