[kj] OT Planespotting (a tad long, sorry)

Sun Feb 13 17:32:45 EST 2005

Well Rob, I was due to see Granada TV's little drama a few weeks ago but had to dip out due to the chicken pox. Sadly, I've been told, the program is humourous but does appear to trivialise our plight and the joke seems to be on the Touchdown tour party. I was not going to mention it here because personally I am very angry about the way things have turned out, and most of that anger is felt towards Paul and Lesley Coppin (who I have known for almost 10 years, having been quite a Touchdown Tours regular in the second half of the 90's), but have been advised that attacking them in the media would be unwise due to the media profile they have created. Hopefully here I can "test the water" with a few facts.  

Of the 14 people arrested, convicted then acquitted (bar Michael Keane who did not attend the appeal on medical grounds & is therefore still convicted of "aiding and abbetting espionage" and his one year suspended sentence remains in place, although it is technically wiped from the books in April 2005 when the suspension time is over - bizarre or what), only two people have paid "no lawyers fees" from their own pocket. They are Paul & Lesley Coppin. 

Shortly after the arrest, the Daily Mail struck a deal with Coppins for their exclusive story and just before we were released after the 37 days incarceration, the Daily Mail provided the £9,200 bail money (each) for the Coppins (which was 5 million drachmas) whilst the rest of us had to sort our own funding. They were also given £10,000 money for their exclusive story. From the £10,000, the Coppins paid their initial legal bill of £3,000 each, which left £4,000. Several times it was said by Mrs Coppin (we have an email to that effect) that the remaining £4,000 would be divided up between the rest of us. This never happened. One of Michael Keane relatives managed to hassle Lesley so much that she gave over £350 but that is about it. All the time, we were being told not to worry about the money as this would be taken to the EU courts and we would get thousands of pounds in compensation for illegal arrest, human rights abuses etc. 

At the trial, just before the defence lawyers summed up, they called us into a room. We thought that they would discuss their tactics but NO, it was a demand for further money. They took cheques off some for £4,600 and got others such as myself to sign chits for the money to be taken from the bail money when it was returned. Interestingly, as the Coppins had no bail money of their own posted with the Greek courts, they somehow managed to evade this demand. Lesley had demanded that the lawyer Zacharius had told her after the initial £3,000, it would only be another £384 each. This claim is as dubious as anything that comes out of her mouth. I thought that as "tour operators" they should have dealt with the lawyers themselves & sorted all the finances out themselves, thereby having "one fully itemised bill" divided equally by 14. This never happened and the lawyers used a ploy of divide and conquer.

Forward to the appeal ... due to the outrageous sums already demanded/paid, the general consensus was that no further fees would be demanded. We went to the appeal. It took place in November 2002 and all those who attended were acquitted. Foward to spring 2003 and some stories circulate the "Planespotters" are very upset as the bail money had not been returned. The was just procedural & by May 2003 all the paperwork was completed and the bail money released. A couple folks from the Daily Mail went down to Kalamata and got their money (some £18,000) back that they had presented as surety for the Coppins. Meanwhile one of the Greek lawyers was unhappy that he had not been paid & slapped an injunction on the remaining bail money and served legal papers against the 9 of us claiming some £4,000 in damages for unpaid fees (the 9 did not include the 2 Dutch guys, whose bail money was paid by the Dutch Government, Mr Keane whose family just paid out as he had suffered a breakdown, and Paul and Lesley Coppin who had no assets in Greece that could be frozen). 

The court action got postponed several times & was even incorrectly reported as "Planespotters to sue Greek lawyers" on the BBC. Eventually in early 2004, seven of us came to an out of court settlement ahead of the court action,  agreeing to pay 2000 euros (about £1300) each to put an end to it. It meant that the lawyers fees, court costs, flights and hotel bills etc had cost us about £10,000 each. Apart from the Coppins. They claimed in several newspapers that the incident had cost them about £40,000 - this is utter nonsense. They have paid NOTHING towards legal bills from their own pockets. The two folks not to agree to the out of court settlement were Andrew Jenkins and Steve Rush. Andy's bail money was put foward by a York businessman & therefore Andy did not really care, though the willing donor would probably be pissed off to hear his money has gone into the hands of a Greek lawyer, though he probably did well out of the publicity. Steve's bail was posted by a relative of his other half. I am certain that Jenny is none too pleased with his bullish stance that he would not do a deal, which would have at least lead to the return of several thousand pounds. Both of their bail monies are still frozen by the Greek courts.

It appears that at first the Greek lawyers tried to chase those who had not paid (Coppins owed & still owe about £10,000 - again, they got away without the extra demand that we paid out of court) by serving papers via an English lawyer but as the lawyers had never given us any formal fully itemised bill at any time, this appeared to be dropped by the Southend lawyer as it could not be successful in a UK court.

Okay, since then, I have got on with my life. Aviation pursuits are well on the back burner. We heard about Granada TV's intention when we were at appeal. Apart from a nominal interview fee of £120, which most received, only the Coppins were seriously consulted and received a five figure fee for that. Lesley is now in the process of writing a book about her experiences. I did ring up Lesley on 26th August 2004 to discuss WHETHER she might consider contributing some of the profits from her related ventures into the Planespotters Legal Fund, so to compensate us for our financial suffering. Not a chance. She was aggresive, defensive and tatically weepy at the crucial moments (well played Lesley, but I just don't buy it). We never got a penny back for the curtailed £700 holiday or the 37 days spent in jail, from either the Coppins or the Greeks. I had holiday insurance but is does not cover "criminal activity" as we were charged with at the time. Stitched up, totally. 

Many many people have suggested, why don't you sue the Coppins, for failing in their duty of care as tour operators. We are almost certain that they have no insurance to cover being sued therefore, if that had been successful, they would probably have to remortgage their home & we would been casted as nasty people. She has all those media contacts don't forget. Maybe with all those book & DVD sales, this is something we may have to pursue in future. 

So, if you happen to see the TV drama, don't feel too much sympathy for the Coppins - it is their own customers who were the real victims in Greece.

See you at the Empire on the Thursday and the Friday but please give me a break. By then I will have faced several days of flak after next Sunday.

Regards,

Antoni

* http://home.clara.net/antoni/ *

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Rob's Arse 
  To: gathering at misera.net 
  Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 7:29 PM
  Subject: [kj] OT Planespotting

  Just seen an advert for a programme next Sunday at 9 pm in the UK called Planespotting . Billed rather cruelly as the Geeks v The Greeks.
  Obviously about our dear gathering friend but I wonder if you have seen any of it Antoni or what part you played etc.

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