By Amber Murray
The High Court has thrown out an appeal by a founder member of the Liberal Democrats in which she argued for the disclosure of the identities of people who had targeted her online.
Jo Hayes is a founding member of the Lib Dems and has served as a parliamentary candidate and elected councillor, amongst other roles. She is also a barrister.
Hayes claimed that she had been targeted online by a fictitious persona, “Monica Anderson” who was trying to “sow discord among pro-EU campaigners”, in addition to using a false identity to “infiltrate[e], monitor [and] manipulate[e].”
Hayes was expelled from the Lib Dems in 2021 and has since set up a CrowdJustice fund in 2022 to support her return to the party. On the page, she stated her belief that a senior party member was “hiding behind anonymity” to spread “damaging rumours”, and manipulated the Lib Dems’ complaints system to do so.
“If [crowdfunding is done] as a matter of urgency, I can stand for election as President and campaign for the [described] reforms,” Hayes wrote.
So far, £6,577 has been raised of a £100,000 goal.
The defendant in the case, Stephen Dudhill, was purported to have been “mixed up” with “Monica Anderson” and was identified by Hayes as a co-conspirator.
Dudhill and other Twitter (now X) accounts accused Hayes of “telling lies, being part of a hate campaign, and infiltrating the Liberal Democrats”.
The original judge of the case, Master McCloud, ruled against Hayes’ claims against Dudhill and the Liberal Democrats on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
Hayes appealed the original decision on eight counts, including but not limited to lack of a fair trial, miscommunication between respondents and defendants, and an “illogical” order against the Bar Standards Board (BSB)
The judge dismissed the appeal and stated that Hayes’ evidence that “Monica Anderson” was a fictitious person was “not sufficient” for a claim, adding that “it was not in the interests of justice to make an order”.
The court also did not find evidence that Hayes had “sustained damage” as a result of the disputes. Hayes claimed for £10,000 but was previously asked to pay £3,808 in damages to Dudhill.
She reportedly first became involved in the dispute after meeting one Hunter, who had been the target of online abuse (including the release of his bank statements) due to his involvement with pro-EU groups circa 2016.
He and a supporter were the victims of “coordinated” complaints by the same “Monica Anderson”.
Hayes stated her concerns that this person was engaged in “unlawful political data harvesting” during “the period of uncertainty” between the Brexit referendum in June 2016 and the departure of the UK from the European Union.
Commenting on the ruling, Hayes said: “This appeal concerned two complainants to the Liberal Democrats against me to whom the party granted anonymity. The party has defended its decisions to do so but has given no reason for doing so. The appeal also concerned the identities of four Twitter account holders who harassed me online over the course of nearly a year since I wrote a blog in exercise of my right to free expression. I sought disclosure of their identities. I am considering the judgment of Mr Justice Johnson, including whether there are grounds for a second appeal. I will decide on my next steps in the matter soon.”
Liberal Democrats was contacted for comment.
