Personal Blog & Memoir

Memoir

From 2005 to 2007 I went to the University of Stirling, Newbattle Abbey College in Dalkeith and Falkirk College. I got bullied by students and tutors numerous times, sometimes by both at the same time to such an extent that local MSPs and MPs would get involved so they have been aware of my difficulty in accessing education in Scotland since 2006. Examples include MSP Alison Johnston, former Minister of Justice and Public Health Michael Matheson and MP Eric Joyce. I was not able to understand the social norms or pick up the social cues. Normally (three times in total, at different universities/colleges) I would get expelled two months after I started the course. I was also subjected to disciplinary procedures in order to ‘justify’ or satisfy the legal requirements for excluding me.

Each time I ended up suffering from depression, crying for a few months, terrified to go out, shutting the curtains in the house.

Every expulsion took me a longer time to recover from.

Finally, I was referred to the local psychiatric unit to be assessed for learning difficulties. The intention was to find out what’s wrong, why am I not able to deal with social situations well or people? It was also to find out what support I could get in the educational environment.

I was treated as an outpatient in Falkirk to be reassessed. This is when I was given a diagnostic questionnaire for autism assessment, designed by UK expert Simon Baron Cohen, on which I scored 43/50, indicating autism.

However, I was not forwarded to the specialist in Glasgow or Edinburgh. They instead allowed a junior doctor with no qualification in autism (child or adult) to give me a further assessment.

That’s how the incident began.

The Incident:

  • I was being assessed for the third time on 22 Jan 2008 where I wasn’t made to feel comfortable or safe enough because some staff were very hostile and intimidating towards me.
  • I had already scored 43/50 in the autistic diagnostic questionnaire.
  • Nursing staff at the centre I attended had made racist remarks to me.
  • I asked for CPN McGonigle to be replaced – this was ignored.
  • We later found out that the Psychiatric Nurse (Linda McGonigle) had previously made insulting remarks against me.
  • By the time I arrived for the third assessment, I felt I had been insulted by the centre staff and the CPN, and that my time was being wasted by more assessments by a doctor not qualified in autism.
  • During the assessment itself, the psychiatrist was rude and insulting towards me and the CPN didn’t stop him.
  • The CPN was hostile to me.
  • The psychiatrist was very aggressive and kept using a sharp tone towards me.
  • I was very anxious and upset.

·         I felt I wasn’t being respected both as a patient and as an Asian woman by the Caucasian doctor. They thought I was trying to seduce the male doctor which is a great insult to an Asian and married woman and a religious person.

·         I had never before seen a doctor this violent or a nurse so hostile. It was very new to me. I hadn’t recovered from the experience of bullying in college and university yet.

  • The psychiatrist snatched papers from my hands, making me afraid of his behaviour. I thought he was going to harm me.
  • Again, the CPN did not stop him, even when he was chasing me around the assessment room.
  • The psychiatrist and the CPN did nothing to calm me down, which should be a part of their training – knowing how to identify and calm down a terrified patient.
  • They both left me alone in the assessment room for a while.
  • I couldn’t cope.
  • I couldn’t process the insults and the insulting behaviour and I felt terrified.
  • I fled the room and tried to go upstairs but the junior psychiatrist wouldn’t let me speak to my psychiatrist, Dr. Dewar. He blocked the stairway and used his elbow to push me downstairs. I lost my balance. This was the first time he assaulted me.
  • I then went to the back of the building, opening all the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen searching for something sharp to self-harm with. At that time, there was still nobody following me.
  • At that time I didn’t know they had put a lot of inappropriate comments into my medical records.
  • I come from a very well-cultured and sophisticated society from an upper-class professional background. To be talked down to by somebody is not something I am used to, and I felt I wasn’t being respected or being listened to.
  • Then I got even more upset.
  • I passed through the corridor again, from the back of the building to the front.
  • I wanted to get outside, but the junior psychiatrist was blocking the hallway so I needed to go past him in order to get out of the building.
  • I went out of the building to wait for the taxi but realised I had something I wanted to give to my psychiatrist (a letter to withdraw from treatment, because I found the staff hostile and I did not think it was the best place for me. I was also the only non-Scottish person there).
  • As I tried to enter the building the nurse / CPN Linda McGonigle, pushed the door and my arm got jammed in the door.
  • She was aware that my arm was jammed in the door but she didn’t stop. She very aggressively pushed the door, trying to break my arm. She asked the junior psychiatrist to help her. They each used both arms to push the door many times so the force of four arms was acting against my arm which was still jammed. My arm was hurting and I started crying. I did not understand their behaviour as I was not threatening anyone. I had no weapon and I was not swearing, screaming or insulting anyone. It seemed as though they were intentionally trying to hurt and punish me. I would like to know why they felt threatened enough to harm me like that.
  • I kept telling them I was hurting. I must have said it more than six times.
  • Eventually I gave them the envelope and I left the building.

Immediately After the Incident:

·         I stood outside the building and two police officers came over.

·         The male PC (PC Grant) asked me who caused the problem and if I knew anything about what was went on inside.

·         Because I was treated so badly I assumed they had called the police because of me.

·         The police went inside. I waited outside. I didn’t run away.

·         When the police came out and approached me to say something, I couldn’t process what they said and couldn’t give any response. I think I was in shock, scared and still confused.

·         PC Grant forcefully twisted my arms behind my back to put cuffs on my arms which made the pain worse. My arm had just been crushed by four arms in a very aggressive, violent way. I had never had such an experience before, and I was terrified.

·         I was taken to the police station.

·         The sergeant said something to me about my rights that I couldn’t understand. I couldn’t register it at all. I did not understand why I needed a solicitor. I did not have a criminal record. If they thought I needed a solicitor, they either thought I was guilty or I was already a criminal. Where is my right as a vulnerable patient?

·         After a few hours I was interviewed by PC Grant and PC Honey. They both kept shouting and yelling and saying a lot of things I didn’t understand. They were blaming me for everything. I can only handle people talking to me in a soft and calm tone. They were very rough. They were not like other police officers I was familiar with.

·         Two Police Officers who forced me to sign the statement. I thought PC Grant was going to hit me like Dr Van Der Speck. I do not know who could handle such rough, abusive and aggressive behaviour towards by two men in the same afternoon. Who could stand such abuse and torture.

·         I was interviewed without a solicitor and without an appropriate adult or interpreter.

·         My husband went to the police and asked to see me, but he was rejected so he didn’t have the chance to explain to them my condition. I think he was rejected because he was English so they were not interested in listening to him.

·         I wanted to be treated with respect, as a human.

·         The sergeant took my fingerprints and took a photo of me. At the same time I asked whether he could take a photo of my arms, but he refused and told me there was no need. I didn’t understand. I was brutally treated yet they didn’t want to take a photo of my injuries.

·         The two PCs did not tell the sergeant that I had been injured.

·         In the cell, I felt like I couldn’t breathe many times. I had chest pain and I was hyperventilating. I had no doctor to help me and no medication to calm me down. It was very painful.

·         I had panic attacks, so they put me on suicide watch.

·         After midnight they took me off suicide watch because there were too many people, and they put me back in the cell.

·         After they locked me in the cell, they closed the hatch and I felt I couldn’t breathe again. I asked them not to close it but they said they had to.

·         Other people started making noise.

·         I kept asking for more blankets because I was so cold. They said they had given me enough blankets and they had no more.

·         I had nowhere to sit. I was hungry and thirsty. I buzzed them very often (it turned out I buzzed them every one or two minutes).

·         Eventually I was assessed by a police doctor, though the report he made didn’t get released to the procurator fiscal until September.

I asked them for help many times, so they could tell I was terrified and scared and also that I was not well, but the psychiatric unit told the police not to take me back to the hospital. In the computer system it said not to treat me, even at emergency units.

The Aftermath:

The next day they put me on the bus, put the cuffs on me, on my arms. I think they also put cuffs on my ankles, and I was transported to the court. When I was in the court I cried very loudly, like a child. I was very distressed, so they felt they needed a psychiatric nurse to talk to me and then a social worker. However, that psychiatric nurse, Fiona Anderson, was very manipulative. She was working for Dr Debbie Nelson. I thought she was helping me but she coached me on how to say things in the court, and she wanted me to take all the blame. I remember her name was Fiona Anderson. She was working for Dr Debbie Nelson, and she also knew the people who assaulted me, and she wanted me to say sorry in the court. She said everything would be fine. She wanted me to say sorry and plead guilty.

When I stood in the court I couldn’t remember anything, I just cried and cried. So they asked for me to be taken away. After I was taken downstairs from the court, there was a guy who said he was my duty solicitor. I cannot remember what he said to me but he asked me my doctor’s name. I gave him the name of my psychiatrist and GP. He emailed Dr Colin Dewar (the psychiatrist) to ask him to produce a psychiatric report, but Dr Dewar said that Dr Debbie Nelson should be the person to do it.

On the 25th January, Dr Dewar wrote to the head of the Forth Valley Psychology Department, Dr Neil Rothwell, psychologist Dr Susan Ramsey (who I had seen about six times), and psychiatrist Dr Debbie Nelson, to discredit me in the medical notes. He intentionally advised my defence lawyer to hire Dr Debbie Nelson to make the report for the court.

During that time, my medical notes had been circulated to Dr Van der Speck, CPN Linda McGonigle, and Dr Debbie Nelson. After the incident happened, Dr Dewar asked the social work service not to help me and described me as an abusive and violent person and as potentially lying. On 18th February 2008, Dr Dewar emailed Dr Whitelaw (my GP) about the case before her meeting with me, preventing her from remaining neutral or taking my word into account. Eventually Dr Whitelaw and another GP also put something inappropriate in my medical notes. Another two male GPs put more actual facts into the notes. One recorded my injury in the record in January, the other GP said I was suffering with social stress in July. When he saw me, I was shaking very badly.

On 20th February 2008 Dr Dewar abused his professional position by emailing Dr Debbie Nelson, the head of Forth Valley Psychology Department, Dr Van der Speck, and Linda McGonigle, about my case. Dr Van der Speck and Linda McGonigle were cited by the crown office during the court case. This interfered with the court case. Dr Debbie Nelson prepared a psychiatric report for my defence lawyer. It seemed like they didn’t want to give me a fair trial, but to use their colleagues or people they knew (a nepotistic culture). I called the psychology department and asked two to three psychologists, but nobody wanted to help me. I said I wasn’t coping. I left the court and came home. My husband, Martin Williams, took photos of my bruises.

I told the duty solicitor to get the police doctor’s report about my injury, but he didn’t get it. Then he asked me to plead guilty. The defence lawyer followed Dr Dewar’s deliberate advice for Dr Debbie Nelson to make a psychiatric report on me. My defence lawyer did not bother to consult a psychiatrist from outside Forth Valley, so the second opinion from Dr Debbie Nelson was not neutral. Correspondences between Dr Dewar and Dr Nelson are in my medical notes.

When I went to see Dr Debbie Nelson for an interview in May, CPN Fiona Anderson was there. During the assessment and interview with Dr Debbie Nelson she did not produce a neutral and professional profile on me. In fact she produced a biased report in favour of her colleagues who assaulted me. She produced a report in favour of Dr Van der Speck and  Linda McGonigle. As a result I lodged a formal complaint against her to the GMC. The GMC left in her record that she should not to be involved in my care in the future, because of her misconduct.

During interview she (Dr Nelson) was hostile and not respectful. She also kind of looked down on me. She described me in her report as medium well-built, trying to make it sound like I am a very muscular and violent person, or even abusive. She also asked me whether I developed feelings for, or an attachment to, Dr Colin Dewar. At that time I didn’t know how many things had been exaggerated or inaccurately documented in my medical notes.

Before I needed to appear in court, I had a meeting with my solicitor (from Russel and Aitken) and he said the report was very bad about me so he wanted me to plead guilty. I asked him whether he obtained the police sergeant’s report. He said he didn’t need that because the psychiatric report was so negative and damaging. He didn’t bother to get a second opinion but used the report from Dr Dewar and the people who assaulted me. As a result, I took him to the Law Society of Scotland. Eventually, I got two compensation cheques from his firm (because he provided an inadequate service). The Law Society of Scotland tried to cover up this lawyer’s incompetence so I took them to the Scottish Legal Complaint Commission, and I received two further cheques from the Law Society of Scotland.

I therefore had to find another criminal lawyer to handle my case. The second lawyer tried to obtain the police sergeant’s report but the police refused to release it to my lawyer and told my lawyer that the report went to the crown office in August. The police were supposed to forward the doctor’s report to the crown office the day they processed me. When they proceeded with my case to the crown office, they should have attached the police sergeant’s examination report and witness statement to the crown office, but that didn’t happen. The police already tried to criminalise me.

When the crown office and Falkirk PF office were requested that the sergeant’s examination report be released, they also refused to release the report to my lawyer and also to the court. This was in September.

When I appealed to the court, I raised my voice to say that the crown office had tried to suppress evidence and interfere and cause a miscarriage of justice. My second lawyer (from MTM) finally got the report from the crown office but afterwards, my second solicitor dropped my case because I had raised my voice and because I refused to plead guilty. The MTM solicitor has a very friendly working relationship with Falkirk PF. After he dropped my case, I couldn’t find anyone in Falkirk to represent me and my case so I had to go to Stirling and Alloa to find someone to represent my case.

It took me a while to find a solicitor to take my case. He tried to make a backdoor deal with the PF. He also thought that I was attracted to him, but that wasn’t the case. This is typical of Caucasian males, they look down on Asian women. They think Asian women want to have sex with them or seduce them. He didn’t fight for my case, he didn’t follow my instructions, he wanted me to plead guilty but I refused because I didn’t do anything wrong.

On the final trial day, court was already adjourned four times. The fifth time I appeared in the court I witnessed the crown office witnesses, Dr Van der Speck, Linda McGonigle, and the receptionists. Two witnesses lied to the court that I didn’t have autism/Asperger’s syndrome because they made no mention of it at all (that this was my third autism assessment). They both lied in the court by deliberately not mentioning it. When I was on the witness stand I was shaking and very tearful and eventually the judge gave me the conviction but the sentence was to go home and not to do it again. I didn’t understand why I was found guilty but allowed to go home. Afterwards, the Falkirk PF office made no apologies. The three PFs also refused to make any apologies.

The court case ran from 23rd January 2008 to 28th October 2008. During that time I didn’t have any psychiatric treatment, psychological therapy, or medication. I remember I was taken once from the court by ambulance.

I appeared in court five times in total. There were two sheriffs who saw me appear in the court. One sheriff saw me at least twice. However, none of them would want to conduct my court case. They must have felt something was wrong when they saw me at the third and fourth time; I was taken by the ambulance from the court. I was challenging the PF in the court for refusing to release the police sergeant’s examination report on me when the other sheriff was there. Because these two Falkirk based sheriffs did not want to conduct my trial, the Falkirk Sheriff Court arranged someone who was from Glasgow who did not know my case and did not know I have already been mistreated for nearly nine months by many people including the lawyers, NHS medical members of staff, Procurator Fiscals and Police.

In July 2009 my husband became my full-time carer after he obtained his master’s degree. I still had received no treatment, social care or any support. So we had to travel overseas (Taiwan and Australia) to get the assessments, confirmed diagnosis, medication and treatment. We brought back these medical assessments, a confirmed diagnosis from psychiatrist Dr Chang and a world expert psychologist, Professor Tony Attwood. I also had a thorough care report from Professor Neil Thompson (social work and care).

I still received no support or treatment in 2009/2010. One GP (Dr Bernardi) was the only GP to fight for my medical treatment against the Forth Valley Health Board medical director and deputy medical director, the head of the psychiatry department (the German Dr Michael Gotz), the head of the psychology department (Dr Rothwell), and CPNs, but no one wanted to offer me any treatment, medication, or therapy. They wanted me to not get better and to kill myself. I tried to kill myself many times because I couldn’t get those abusers out of my head. The intrusive memories and flashbacks in my daily life lead me to cut myself many times. I also smashed my head. I don’t know how my husband looked after me, it must have been hard. I think the time in the cell really had an impact on me.

Dr Colin Dewar also blocked any autism charities in Falkirk from working with me.

2008

In September 2008 NHS Forth Valley (NHSFV) clinicians Dr Gotz and Dr Muzaffar both messed up my medical notes very badly, so no one would believe anything I said. They intended to convince clinicians all over Scotland not to treat me, see me, or help me.

Dr Gotz even described me as chasing the diagnosis in order to claim benefits. I wanted the diagnosis in order to help me gain support in the educational environment, not in order to claim any benefits. In fact, when I came to Scotland, I was in a very good financial position, with many properties.

The slander made by Dr Michael Gotz, NHSFV

In the meeting of May 2010, Dr Gotz told those present that I had threatened and assaulted two medical staff with a knife. He repeated this in a conversation with A&E staff – as annotated by the assessing clinician – in July 2010. This assault is fictitious; it never took place; I have never threatened anyone with a knife. Dr Gotz is therefore knowingly slandering me, his actions prejudicing my receiving of treatment and therapy. Also, NHSFV have received complaints from myself about this, but have refused to act and have ignored my complaints.

Dr Gotz was blocking my access to psychiatric and psychotherapy services. Dr Gotz had made entries into my medical records, including on the computer system, that I was not to be admitted to psychiatric wards under any circumstances, including via A&E. This note has meant that my access to such wards, even in an emergency, has been blocked, thereby denying me access to the correct treatment and support, including during my prosecution. Dr Gotz has also contacted and blocked services such as the Home Treatment Team, the provision of a CPN, and Social Services, amongst others. It seems bizarre that he should abuse his position of power to waste so many resources in his attempt to see if I would plead guilty. Dr Gotz is therefore in contravention of medical and mental health legislation.

The psychiatrist Dr Muzaffar deliberately and falsely diagnosed me with Histrionic, Paranoid, and Narcissistic gross mental personal disorders. So any clinicians in Scotland would think and believe I was too ill to be treated and dismiss anything I said as exaggeration, like a drama, or as though I made up the facts. Furthermore they disguised the facts and the truth about their colleagues, Dr Van Der Speck and Linda McGonigle, who assaulted me. This was in order to protect themselves – they did not want anyone else to treat me and give me the confirmed diagnosis, to help me get better, or even to listen to my side of the story. They would throw any mud they could against me, hoping that at least some of it would stick and ruin my reputation.

Later on I was admitted to the mental ward and then Muzaffar told my husband that if I would like to kill myself then he should not stop me because it would be my decision.

Since the incident of January 2008, NHSFV have failed to treat me, failed to properly assess and diagnose me, failed to provide treatment, and acted against my best interests as a patient with severe and various false diagnoses. They have also done nothing to protect and support me as a vulnerable and disabled adult.

Deputy Medical Director Dr Rhona Morrison and the NHSFV Data Controller(s) were in breach of the Data Protection Act via a failure to maintain accurate records. Despite numerous requests, letters and emails, NHSFV had done nothing to correct errors in my medical records. Dr Morrison has confirmed in writing that NHSFV will not correct any of my records. NHSFV Health Board and Dr Morrison are therefore knowingly breaking the provisions of the Data Protection Act in that they are required to maintain accurate records and correct any mistakes. 

I filed a complaint to the Law Society of Scotland (LSS) regarding the defence lawyer’s incompetence in providing a professional service. I made a number of points but only two were upheld. I then took my complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC). They just asked the LSS to look at my complaint again. This time, another two different points were upheld so I returned to the SLCC. As a result I received four cheques – two from the lawyer at Russel & Aitken and two from the LSS. I was still unsatisfied with the defence. Eventually I took the SLCC to the high court because the SLCC tried to cover up for the law society. This lasted from 2008 until 2010.

2009

NHS ignored Psychiatrist Dr Chang’s psychiatric report and diagnosis on me. Martin started to contact the World expert in Asperger and Autism Professor Tony Attwood. We contacted Professor Attwood for a year.

My husband helped me to submit my appeal to Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) from 2009 to 2011. They turned it down on two occasions, giving the reason that there was no public interest the first time. The second time, they knew there was a miscarriage of justice but they said that there was no interest of justice.

I filed a complaint to the Police Complaints Commission for Scotland (PCCS) because they did not provide a lawyer, an interpreter or an appropriate adult and because they did not take photos of my injuries. They also did not file the sergeant’s examination report on time. They were also shouting at me and making me ill, and they refused to take me to the emergency unit to have treatment. This was how I developed the panic attack disorder and claustrophobia.

2010

OPINION OF THE COURT delivered by LORD CARLOWAY in the application by DEBBIE CHEN WILLIAMS against a Decision of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission

Act: Dawson; Macbeth Currie Alt: D E L Johnston, Q.C.; Anderson Strathern  

25 June 2010 Williams against Scottish legal Complaint Commission and Law society of Scotland

[1] The applicant was charged on summary complaint with assault and breach of the peace at the Dunrowan Resource Centre. She proceeded to trial at Falkirk Sheriff Court on 28 October 2008. Although there is some confusion on this matter, it was the Commission’s understanding that the applicant was convicted of the breach of the peace and acquitted of the assault. The penalty was admonition.

Three judges, including Lord Carloway, made an error regarding my conviction in his opinion of the court. He stated that I was found guilty of the breach of the peace and acquitted of the assault but in reality I was actually convicted of the assault and was acquitted of the breach of the peace. The judge therefore got it the wrong way around. This is important because the assault conviction was what caused me to be denied any further treatment and care from 2008 to 2013.

My former lawyer instructed a UK expert in Social Care, Professor Neil Thompson, who was from Wales, to come to Scotland to see me. He made the report for my care needs based on Dr Chang’s psychiatric report in 2009 and 2010 and Professor Tony Attwood’s diagnosis in 2010.

2011

5 July 2011 PF David Harvie who now is Crown Agent wrote to me regarding my complaint against the police who assaulted me.

‘I have now decided to take no proceedings in respect of this complaint. During the course of my enquiries, I noted that Mrs Williams was not provided with the services of either an appropriate adult or an interpreter. In addition, the bruising to her arms was not photographed whilst she was in Custody. Her husband took photographs upon her release on bail the following day. I appreciate that custody processes have been subject to a recent review by Central Scotland Police. Doubtless you will have taken this and other cases into account.’

PF David Harvie has decided not to prosecute the police and their witnesses Dr Van Der Speck and CPN Linda McGonigle who both assaulted me, including PC Grant. I appealed to the court, five times in nine months. They had plenty of opportunities to take responsibility and correct their errors. Their witnesses accused me of assault but nobody had any injuries from me. In fact, I was the only one with injuries (on the wrists and the upper arms), for which there is photographic evidence of the bruising, but no one else was prosecuted besides me. I did not receive a fair trial. Considering these errors, they could have dropped the charges but they refused. They clearly had intent to get me convicted through an unfair prosecution process. One deputy PF, (name) who was handling my case from the beginning to September, decided not to handle my trial after I challenged his police doctor’s injury report on me in the court.

2012

The psychiatric report produced by Professor Stephen Lawrie who is an expert in Psychiatry, Autism and Asperger based at University of Edinburgh on July 2012 with the confirmed diagnosis on me as Asperger Syndrome, PTSD, Bipolar, Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia.

By this time, still no one wanted to treat me. There were six professionals who would try to manage and control me since November/December to July 2011. They were NHS psychiatrist, CPN, psychologist, GP, Social workers and Autism Initiative Organisation. The New Zealander psychologist blocked the treatment, blocked referrals, blocked psychiatric tablets and support hours. After Professor Lawrie’s report, they all screamed and ran away. Particularly the psychologist was found being naughty by HPC because she could not treat me and she was not qualified to treat me but she did not want to make a referral and abused her position as a head of psychology department. 

2013

I finally was referred to Royal Infirmary River Centre to specialist Dr Clair Fyvie, who has two master’s degrees and one PhD, for the PTSD psychotherapy treatment for trauma from September until late December 2013. The treatment was intensive; I needed two to three weeks break between each session. My care support was still insufficient at that time.

My husband helped me to submit a claim through the CICA. Unfortunately the CICA terminated my application in July 2013 but they didn’t tell us until 2016. They continued to tell us that they were still considering our application from 2013 to 2015. They also deleted our application when they were supposed to have kept a record for three years. Their reason for terminating the application was that they hadn’t received the consent form from me but we had been told twice that they had received our consent form in 2013.

2014

I had an occupational therapy (OT) assessment but after so many social workers messed up my care assessments, as a result they will be monitored by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) for over a year. My care support package was not finalised until November 2014. I also was permanently expelled from the University of Edinburgh after having been bullied by students and staff. They expelled me because they knew I was receiving trauma therapy treatment in River Centre in Edinburgh and because I have Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. They should have supported their students undergoing trauma treatment as well as disabled students with learning difficulties by making allowances for them. They should therefore have made allowances for me, taking my illness and treatment into account but they did not provide me with the correct support, including refusing my PA/support worker from being with me in the lecture theatre. Instead, they permanently expelled me.

One tutor Elaine Niven, the tutor of the memory course, made a diary over the ten weeks in an attempt to collect evidence against me to support the university in their disciplinary action against me. She made false allegations and marked down my essay from an A grade to a C grade. She was not able to deny that I studied very hard. Her reluctance to give me a good mark was driven by her desire to please her supervisor, James Mooney. There is therefore a lack of consistency between her comments and her marks as she admitted that I studied very hard, knowing that I did not deserve the lower mark C.

The university launched a disciplinary procedure against me twice even though they already knew that I was very unwell, with slow recovery from the trauma treatment and that at the same time I was also having to juggle a lot of studies. In most subjects I did well, attaining higher B grades, and with almost 100% attendance, but in the subject of Enlightenment Philosophy, the tutor, John Gordon, did not like my essay, and he kicked me out of his course and also his classroom as soon as he received my essay which he marked as a fail, all because I criticised David Hume. The university did not allow me to appeal. They wouldn’t stop bullying me until I would agree to leave my studies for a year. The main reason for this was that they gave me the wrong advance regarding funding, leaving me to pay for my own tuition fee, so they wanted me to leave. The staff did not admit their mistake until the second disciplinary meeting. They also did not want to admit that I was verbally assaulted by one of the students in the philosophy class. The philosophy tutor also failed to stop the students in the class from using hate-crime language to criticise Muslims, including their behaviour and the way the women dress. I felt very uncomfortable with this. I did not want to join in with this criticism and I felt as though they wanted to leave me out because of this. I raised a complaint about this to the tutor, to other staff and to the head office and I got punished and they started planning to punish me everywhere I went. The educational psychology tutor did not want to write a letter to support me when he had used my research for his own curriculum. He asked me if he could use it as his teaching material and I gave him my permission to do so.

2015

2016

2017

2018