SOS group explains reasons for taking action against individuals
The Save Our Society group has clarified its reason for naming individual members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Council in its legal action.
“The action could not be taken against the Society itself because
it was not the Society that petitioned for the new Charter. The petitioning
was done by the Council,” SOS spokesman Graham Phillips told The
Journal. “However, because the Council is not recognised as a legal
entity we had no choice but to name individual Council members.”
The SOS group decided to take action only against the 16 Council members
who voted in support of the new Charter petition at the December meeting.
The Society has been named as the 17th defendant. The reason given for
this is stated in the legal documents as: “The Society is a necessary
and proper, but nominal, party to these proceedings.”
Mr Phillips added: “We believe that it should have been the Society,
as the incorporated body, that petitioned for a new Charter as has been
the case in the past. Our action is not vindictive; it is about getting
the High Court to establish the legality of the Council’s action.”
The 17 defendants are: Andrew Burr, Marshall Davies, Wally Dove, Digby
Emson, Phillida Entwistle, Alison Ewing, Christine Glover, Nicola Gray,
Sally Greensmith, Gill Hawksworth, Pat Hoare, Helen Howe, Clive Jackson,
Bob Michell, Michael Schofield, Linda Stone and the Society. Speaking
on behalf of the 17 defendants, the Society’s President, Gill Hawksworth,
said: “In view of the forthcoming legal proceedings instigated
by Mr Phillips and others it would not, of course, be proper for us to
comment on the above, beyond the fact that we are resisting their claim
and shall seek a decision as soon as possible. I shall simply reiterate
what I have said before: that the Council is confident that it has acted
entirely properly in this matter.” |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal