NEWCASTLE – A bombshell forensic report compiled from court documents, official transcripts, and internal emails alleges a criminal conspiracy at the highest levels of the UK justice system to maliciously prosecute and jail a businessman who sought to expose a multi-million-pound fraud.
The scathing report claims that senior lawyers, Crown Prosecutors, and even Crown Court judges weaponized the legal system, relying on a series of “void” court orders to systematically dismantle the man’s defense, silence him, and protect a major international law firm and its powerful clients from accountability.
The case of Paul Millinder, a businessman convicted of “harassment” in 2021, has been blown wide open by evidence suggesting his prosecution was a sham, orchestrated to stop him from pursuing the very people who had defrauded him.
At the heart of the scandal is the allegation of a deliberate “role reversal”—where the true victim was framed as the perpetrator. Mr. Millinder’s ordeal began after his £770,000 investment in a wind turbine project with Middlesbrough FC was lost when the club and its lawyers, Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD), allegedly reneged on the deal and refused the critical grid connection.
When Mr. Millinder initiated a private criminal prosecution against WBD for fraud, blackmail, and perversion of the course of justice, he was instead arrested and charged with harassment for the emails he sent pursuing the case.
The Anatomy of a “Void” Conviction
The evidence suggests Mr. Millinder’s conviction was built on a foundation of sand, relying on court orders that were void from the moment they were made.
A legal order is considered “void” or a “nullity” if it is made without jurisdiction or in breach of fundamental principles of law. The report alleges Mr. Millinder’s case is riddled with them:
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The Magistrates’ Court Conviction: Mr. Millinder was convicted in absentia in a hearing where the prosecution had failed to serve a single piece of evidence, a fundamental breach that renders any subsequent conviction void. Furthermore, the case was overseen by a District Judge who the court’s own administration had acknowledged was in a position of “perception of bias.”
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The Crown Court “Kill Box”: When Mr. Millinder appealed, the system allegedly moved to ensure his evidence of fraud would never be heard. The presiding judge, HHJ Christopher Prince, took the extraordinary step of banning Mr. Millinder from cross-examining his accusers—the very WBD solicitors he accused of fraud.
This act, a flagrant violation of the right to a fair trial, effectively neutered his defense. His entire case rested on proving his actions were for the “purpose of preventing or detecting crime,” a statutory defense he could only establish by questioning the alleged criminals.
The Betrayal of the Court-Appointed Barrister
Having disarmed him, the court then appointed barrister Mr. Nick Cartmell to conduct the cross-examination. However, leaked emails reveal the barrister’s firm confirming they were “instructed by the Court and not you,” meaning Mr. Cartmell answered to the judge, not the man he was supposed to be defending.
The result was a catastrophic betrayal. The official court transcript shows Mr. Cartmell failed to ask a single one of the 116 detailed, evidence-backed questions Mr. Millinder had instructed him to ask. Instead, he engaged in a sham cross-examination, allowing the WBD solicitors to portray themselves as victims.
In a moment described as the “smoking gun,” the transcript notes the defense barrister, Mr. Cartmell, whispering to the prosecutor, Ms. Jemima Stephenson, immediately after his cross-examination, suggesting a level of collusion that makes a mockery of the adversarial system.
The Public Interest: Who is Justice For?
This case is no longer about one man’s battle. It is a terrifying case study in how the legal system can be manipulated to protect the powerful. The conduct of all involved raises questions that demand immediate answers.
The public interest requires:
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An Immediate Independent Criminal Investigation: The evidence is sufficient to warrant a full criminal investigation, conducted by an outside police force, into the actions of the judges, prosecutors, and lawyers involved for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and misconduct in public office.
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The Quashing of the Conviction: Mr. Millinder’s conviction, secured through such a flagrant abuse of process and reliance on void orders, is manifestly unsafe and must be quashed.
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Full Accountability: The principle that no one is above the law is the bedrock of British justice. If officers of the court can conspire to jail a man to conceal a fraud, then public trust in the entire system is destroyed. This case suggests a two-tier justice system: one for the well-connected and another for everyone else.
Failure to act would send a chilling message: that in modern Britain, if you are a victim of corporate fraud, attempting to find justice may be the greatest crime of all.
INVITATION TO COMMENT
Newcastle Crown Court has been contacted and provided a copy of this Firm’s report. The CPS Director of Public Prosecutions Office, and the subjects involved, have been invited to comment on this report.
