Introduction
Peter considers that it has been a great privilege being able to participate in and hopefully influence the revolution in the care of those with mental health problems over 5 decades.
For the last 30 years, with his fellow director and wife, Jolanta Edwards, they have developed the specialist law practice of Peter Edwards Law. Training the talented young solicitors to follow in this area of law has been an important part of the practice.
It has been quite a journey. From representing patients detained in the rundown vast psychiatric hospitals, to being an inspector with the Mental Health Act Commission, to observing, in effect, the privatisation of the care of the most challenging and the tragic failure of ‘community care’ and the dumping of the very vulnerable into a community that does not care.
Peter was very proud to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Liverpool Law Society.
Peter’s formative years
Some of his early skills were developed at the Quaker public school. Leighton Park, in Reading. The journey by steam train from Birkenhead to Reading helped foster a lifelong fascination in these wonderful beasts.
Academic subjects were never his priority, and much time (often without permission) was spent learning acting skills at the nearby Progress Theatre.
These continued back in Liverpool as a member of both the Playhouse and Everyman Youth Theatre groups. He was fortunate to be inspired by the great theatre director, Barry Kyle, who was then the Director of the Liverpool Playhouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Kyle
To the frustration of his parents, he decided not to go to university not quite knowing what the next step would be.
Peter’s early career
He started on his legal journey when his life was given direction by Teddy Gold, who ran the Bronte Youth Centre, in which Peter was a volunteer. It was situated behind Lime Street Station in St Andrews Gardens an area of significant disadvantage.
https://www.thejc.com/news/obituaries/teddy-gold-n9g9rkqi
Teddy suggested that Peter spoke to a friend of his, a well-known Liverpool criminal solicitor, Tony Ostrin, who took him on as his first ‘articled clerk’ on £5 per week.
It was when working for Tony that Peter was introduced to what was then Moss Side Top Security Hospital (now Ashworth). Peter was one of the very first lawyers representing patients. Indeed, at his first tribunal, the medical director refused to give evidence because the patient was represented!
Peter saw some terrible sights at Moss Side. One patient showed him where the skin had come off his back after he had been dragged around a floor by a nursing assistant. There was also a mixed ward where vulnerable women shared the ward with sex offenders to assess how the men were progressing.
It is hardly surprising that Peter became determined to improve the legal rights of those with mental health problems. When trying to serve a writ on the Prison Officers Association at Ashworth in their stronghold, the POA social club, where he was threatened with violence by a senior POA member (Bob) who had to be physically restrained by his colleagues. Peter was much hated by the more extreme and unpleasant nursing assistants who had control of the hospital. This all came out later in the subsequent public enquiry chair by Sir Louis Blom Cooper, who later became the second chair pf the Mental Health Act Commission.
https://www.thejc.com/news/obituaries/obituary-sir-louis-blom-cooper-kbxrgfrj
The chequered history of Moss Side (Ashworth) is graphically described at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashworth_Hospital
Ironically, very many years later Peter got a call from a care home manager saying that Bob would like to see him. On visiting Bob, it was sad to see that he had developed a type of dementia, and he wanted his help. Bearing in mind the previous relationship Peter enquired of Bob why he wanted his help. Bob’s reply was very clear. “You are the biggest bastard I have ever met so I want you on my side”.
Surprising areas of law
As a young criminal lawyer in the 1970’s he observed a somewhat bullish approach by the police. As an officer once explained after Peter believed was the falsification of evidence during a criminal trial, the officer said to Peter “ it does not matter whether he committed this crime or not because we know he has committed many others”.
Peter would also receive phone calls from a ‘Sister Sarah’ (usually at night) asking him to rush down to a police station where someone had been detained under the then Prevention of Terrorism Act. In one memorable incident he was called to what was then know an the ‘Main Bridewell’ in Cheapside Liverpool where a notorious Irish Nationalist had been detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. For security reasons, Peter had to interview him in the bowels of this decaying Victorian prison. When Peter called to be let out, conveniently, no one responded. He spent a very long time with this man with no means of release. He doubts if this was an accident.
Peter also helped mothers regain children who had been snatched unlawfully by their fathers often with a view to taking them abroad. On one occasion he found himself in the kitchen of a Judge’s home at 1am seeking an urgent order.
There was also a very frightening incident where a man whose children Peter successfully returned to their mother, threatened to snatch Peter’s children. Police protection was required for his children.
In 1988 he was the first English solicitor to represent a client personally (without counsel) before the European Court of Human Rights. Angela Blackham had been prevented from seeing her child due to a social work strike. The case was successful.
https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1988/8.html
Peter said: “Appearing before 17 judges was somewhat daunting and one of the greatest challenges of my career”r met so I want you on my side”.
A campaigner
Early in his career Peter was appointed to the management committee of National Mind (The National Association of Mental Health) which at a time was campaigning to improve the 1959 Mental Health Act. Peter recalls that they were exciting times, and he was greatly inspired by Larry Gostin (now professor) who was the legal director. Much of that time was spent seeking to influence what would become the MHA 1983.
https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/lawrence-o-gostin/
In 1974 Peter joined Liverpool MIND and became chair shortly afterwards. This was a role that he held for many years overseeing its transformation from a local campaigning charity to a major local service provider ‘Imagine’ (Now Imagine Independence)
He was a founder member of the Law Society Mental Health and Disability Committee where he campaigned for the introduction of a specialist panel for those representing patients at MHRT’s, which was initially firmly rejected by the Law Society. Eventually, the MHRT panel was the first Law Society panel created.
He later became the Chief Assessor of the MHRT Panel where he introduced the reaccreditation scheme. Subsequently he was appointed consultant to SRA and oversaw their accreditation scheme.
For a short time, he was a legal consultant to the World Health Organisation where he assisted in editing a WHO Resource book on human rights and mental health legislation. This was eventually published:
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240080737
Peter was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in 2016 and was on the editorial board of the International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare.
He is a Mental Capacity Act ‘Accredited Legal Representative’ and was previously a member of the MHT Panel.
He was formally President of MHLA until he had to resign when appointed Chief Assessor.
His work with the Mental Health Act Commission
He was appointed as a legal member of the Mental Health Act Commission from 1983 – 1989 where he served on the Central Policy Committee helping to develop the work of the new Commission (which then became the CQC). It was chaired initially by wonderful Lord Colville whose skills, humanity and experience set the commission on the right track.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Colville,_4th_Viscount_Colville_of_Culross
The first Biennial Report provides a wonderful snapshot of mental health care from 1983 to 1985 bearing in mind these were very important years with the coming into effect of then new 1983 MHA.
His legal career
After Yaffe Jackson and Ostrin he was part of a number of law firms that enabled him to pursue his representation of those with a mental disorder. He became part of the radical law firm Edwards Frais Abrahamson with (at various times) Charlie Frais, Elkan Abrahamson and Peter Simm.
Peter says that his proudest achievement was in January 1995 when he and his wife, Jolanta established Peter Edwards Law which works exclusively in the fields of mental health and mental capacity law.
His Honour Judge Butler (now retired) kindly wrote about Peter Edwards Law:
https://www.peteredwardslaw.com/his-honour-jonathan-butler/
Some particularly interesting legal experiences
Peter represented Michael at his first mental health review tribunal and secured his discharge.
Peter says, ““It was outrageous that he should have been sent to a top security hospital. It was a vengeful and punitive act on someone who had caused no harm but considerable embarrassment. There was considerable media interest in Michael, so I asked him not to tell me anything about what happened in the palace. Several journalists were very generous with drinks when they took me out. The worst example was ITN set up a replica solicitor’s office to interview me. To try and get a scoop they invented a phone call for me to answer in another room and whilst I was out, they searched through my file. A lesson learnt.”
– Michael Fagan (sat on the Queens Bed)
Peter represented Michael at his criminal trial as a result of which he was detained in a secure unit under the MHA. With Peter, his mother helped expose the inadequacy of his care. He was in effect self-medicating his untreated schizophrenia with heroin. Mental health service said he was a drug addict and drug service said he was mentally ill. Neither supported him at this critical time. He deteriorated until, in a deluded state he attacked George Harrison. Once in hospital being appropriately treated, his mental health improved. Indeed, a number of years later Peter was proud to share a platform with Michael at a major conference.
The subsequent Inquiry resulted in the health chiefs having to apologise to Mr Harrison after the inquiry found “significant failings” in the care of Michael. They accepted that they failed to “assess and manage” the “mental health problems” suffered by him.
– Michael Abram (stabbed George Harrison)
Raising awareness through the media and teaching
For many years Peter appeared regularly on TV and Radio. He spoke out against the brutality at Ashworth and was one of those who campaigned for a public enquiry into the abuse of patients to which he gave evidence. Just how bad it was can be seen in the article:
A history of mismanagement and ill-treatment of patients | UK news | The Guardian.
In 2005 Peter appeared on Newsnight where he was grilled by Jeremy Paxman following the HL deprivation of liberty case in the European Court of Human Rights. The decision was considered an outrage by many doctors as the Court found that ‘Harry’ who lacked capacity, was unlawfully deprived of his liberty. This case was the forerunner of the much better known; Cheshire West’ case.
Peter has spent nearly all his professional life trying to improve understanding of mental health and capacity law. In the 1970s he started NW Law conferences with barrister the late Sarah Breech. This then developed into IMHL with Dave Sheppard.
Peter is a retired honorary senior lecturer at Edge Hill University. He runs ‘Peter Edwards Law Training’ which provides online legal training across the range of mental health and capacity law issues for many disciplines.
Shaping the law
He has worked with the Isle of Man Government on the development of their mental health and capacity laws. He has also assisted the Jersey Government and Jersey MIND in updating their mental health laws and assisting in their plans to introduce capacity legislation. In addition, he has also assisted the Jersey Law Society in introducing an accreditation scheme to allow their lawyers to show that they have achieved a certain level of excellence when representing vulnerable people who are detained under their Mental Health Law.
The future
Much of his work these days is spent representing those who have lost capacity to make decisions for themselves. The potentially makes them very vulnerable to abuse.
In one case a vulnerable lady in a care home told Peter that that her jewellery had disappeared. Whilst this could not be verified, in our subsequent investigation Peter discovered that thousands of pounds had been stolen from her bank account by her social worker, who was subsequently sent to prison.
Peter’s enthusiasm and commitment remains undimmed. Who knows what the future might hold?