This is Mr David Weill, a corporate adviser and former derivatives trader. He is also a barrister at the Middle Temple. If he really thinks I have perpetrated a libel, therefore, he ought to have no difficulty in undertaking legal action, rather than blustering on about it and trying to frighten me.
I am not frightfully well acquainted with the ethics of the legal profession, but I am surprised that barristers can write to people threatening them with legal action, and describing them as “a sack of crap”. Is it OK for Mr David De Jongh Weill to call me that in a communication related to proposed legal action? Can I complain to someone who regulates barristers? Any ideas?
Mr David De Jongh Weill was a man ahead of his time in making massive losses from derivatives trading, having been arguably one of the most spectacularly unsuccessful derivatives traders ever.
LORD ROTHSCHILD, one of Britain’s most eminent investors, is about to sever his connections with a Buddhist American investment manager whose $1.2bn hedge funds have embarrassed him by halving in value this year.
The funds, which are being wound down, are managed by David de Jongh Weill from Spencer House, a mansion overlooking St James’s Park that used to belong to the family of the Princess of Wales. Mr Weill’s office is rented from one of Lord Rothschild’s companies.
But Mr Weill’s rich clients have been disappointed this year by a fall of more than $600m in the value of the highly speculative funds, which bet heavily on a fall in interest rates that did not happen.
The Independent 30 January 1994
When is a solicitor's letter not a solicitor's letter.
I love it.
That is just the creepiest looking Tory-type, establishment crony I have seen in a long time.
They must have a factory that churns them out somewhere. Perhaps in Uzbekistan?
Wonder if this post will cause you further libel problems?
Yes – I was worried people would think I made him up. He seems too awful to be true.
I don't really get any libel problems – just people who are too used to being kow-towed to who bluster at me.
By God, Craig, you get stuck in! Bravo!
C'mon Mr Weill, do you dare go where Alisher Usmanov fears to tread?
Craig, are you familiar with the term 'cartooney'? It's a play on 'attorney' from the anti-spam community. The dialogue on usenet is very often along the lines of:
"You're a spammer. You're barred from my servers."
"You're violating my rights under the First Amendment, you bastard. You'll be hearing from my attorney."
They seem even more pathetic in their dealings with you because, like Stephen Lawrence's murderers and the Daily Mail, it often seems to be a case that you would *love* an opportunity to air the truth in court, but they never have the balls to follow through their threats.
Mercenaries and related contractors to the military seem to have very hard-working lawyers. Fortunately, they are often rather unsuccessful. See, for example, the recent decision of a US appeal court to throw out CACI's defamation suit against former Air America radio host Randi Rhodes (http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=6898)
CACI's lawyers are still at it. They say that the articles by Neil MacKay that Craig referred to earlier (http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2008/07/we_are_all_azte.html) are defamatory. And an online petition about CACI and the Scottish census has recently disappeared from the web.
Fortunately there's now a new "Petition for an ethical Scottish census in 2011." It needs all the support it can get and you can find it at http://www.sacc.org.uk/census/
Craig,
In your previous post 'Another Libel Threat from a Rich Mercenary' it's listed there are 7 comments but only 4 appear.
I'm putting here one of the missing comments.
I find the letter from David Weills pathetic. It's a typical example of the kind of thing the secret services would produce to smear and demean. In fact it does the opposite.
Who cares if Tony Buckingham is 'a supporter of western democracy'. In my perception 'a supporter of western democracy' is more than likely to be someone who has ties with or works for our 'permanent government' – the body which really controls and directs policy in the UK
Crikey Craig. You've got a lot of slimy things coming out from underneath the stones. Advise a good press of the heel of the boot or alternatively sprinkle with salt and they shrivel up and die.
Craig, I know these are serious issues, but you're 'cracking me up' as the Yanks say.
Is that even his own hair?
I take it this is the man's own publicity photo.
Otherwise you could be seen as invading his privacy by merely publishing it:-)
He's real alright.
http://www.chiliogon.com/aboutus/details.cfm?pers…
and for good measure you can read a discourse on the meaning of the word chiliogon on this site. Pretentious or what!
Christ, all that experience and the most savage, incisive barb that he can come up with is 'sack of crap'.
Craig,
I've been looking for a couple of 'models' for slimeballs for a thriller I'm writing about the relationship between the UK arms industry and Saudi Arabia, I think you've just supplied me with the raw material, thanks!
I think he resembles Mr. Punch more than the Joker. Heath Ledger was marvelous in the role, by the way.
It seems that you only pick extremely out-dated materials to read and discuss. You should be an ancient historian, not journalist (perhaps that's why you are a failed one and are now only able to do this one-man comedy act here), though even historians keep themselves up to date. Anything actually meaningful or remotely insightful to share here apart from digging ancient news from at least 14 years ago? This blog is just another 'hello' magazine.
And to maryb, just because your two-digit IQ is incapable of grasping a simple philosophical idea, it doesn't mean that 'chiliogon' is pretentious.
In the late 1990s, during the dot.com boom, the multi-talented Mr De Jongh Weill ran a startup called expertgardener.com.
Like many people whose narcissism borders on personality disorder, he has a stupendous ability to seduce. He managed to convince investors that he had the gardening celebrities Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock 'on board'. And was in negotiation with their agent, claiming to have substantial investment!
The company collapsed, owing substantial sums of money.
Mr De Jongh Weill's reinvention as a partner of an investment house is fascinating, and not a little frightening, in the light of his background.
Is he really a barrister, by the way? I think this claim warrants some investigation.