UK judge removed from bench after opposing government on COVID-19 vaccine

A UK judge last week was fired after campaigning against the government’s heavy push for mass COVID-19 vaccination, which included a vaccine mandate.  

Magistrate Karia McCallum, who had presided over criminal cases in the Westminster Magistrates Court, has been a vocal opponent of the government’s forced vaccination campaign, even submitting a complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague. 

“On Tuesday 20th of April 2021 we, the undersigned, issued a 27 -page ‘Request for Investigation’ to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, with a view to asking that our allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity and breaches of the Nuremberg Code, by the UK Government and its advisors, be accepted by the ICC and investigated,” read a press release signed by Melinda C. Mayne LPC LLM MBA GDL and Kaira S. McCallum JP BSc. 

“The Lord Chancellor, with the Lord Chief Justice’s agreement, has removed Kaira McCallum of the Central London bench from the magistracy for serious misuse of her judicial status," said a spokesman for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO). “Following an investigation by the London Conduct Advisory Committee Miss McCallum was found to have associated herself publicly with activity in relation to the government’s response to the Covid pandemic.” 

According to the Law Gazette, McCallum also sent a “highly inappropriate” email to a senior courts manager who had distributed “COVID safety information,” but it was apparently her use of the suffix “JP” that justified her termination. 

“The Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice found that Miss McCallum’s conduct amounted to a serious breach of important guidance on judicial impartiality and of guidance issued to magistrates about use of the suffix ‘JP’.” 

However, guidance published by the UK Magistrates Association about the use of the suffix “JP” is decidedly vague. 

“[G]reat care should be taken to ensure that use of the suffix is not perceived as an attempt to influence or gain advantage eg in an electoral context, in civil proceedings or with the police,” says the association. 

The guidelines also do not prohibit the use of “JP” outside one’s judicial capacity, only saying that they carry no authority. 

“It should also be noted that away from your court and judicial duties, the JP suffix carries no legal authority when completing references or countersigning documents. Use of the JP suffix in these instances is in your capacity as a private citizen and carries no additional weight.” 

The JCIO also said that allowing McCallum “to remain in office would risk damage to the reputation of the judiciary.”