Neil Wilby Media

One of the most notorious internet trolls in the UK, Paul Arthur Ponting, a 54 year native Liverpudlian, is under fire from law enforcement, yet again.

Widely identified as ‘The Ormskirk Vigilante’ (read more here) and well known as a persistent, mendacious liar, his output on Twitter (or X if one prefers) is routinely vile, malicious and hateful.

Ponting currently operates from what he describes as a temporary account, @UKCP_temp, having de-activated a previous, long-running version, @UKCorruptPolice. He deleted the latter in April, 2024.

The conduct of that account led, either directly or indirectly, to the imposition of two until further Order (permanent) court injunctions against him. One in March, 2020 following action brought by Lancashire Constabulary and the latest in April, 2024 to protect two female lawyers from the Salford area from further stalking and harassment.

Across those two civil cases, costs and damages totalling £56,640 were awarded against him, with his own legal costs believed to total around £10,000.

Paul Ponting was also charged on 30th May, 2024 with offences under section 4 of the Protection from Harassment Act, 1997 relating to stalking a female with fear of violence (read more here). He correctly asserts on Twitter that he is innocent until proven guilty. His first appearance at magistrates’ court is on 21st June, 2024, where he is expected to plead ‘not guilty’.

His response to the contact between Greater Manchester Police and Twitter (X) is typical:

“WTF! @gmpolice [GMP’s main Twitter account]. What crime are you alleging here! Thankfully X didn’t bow to your demands of false allegations. Got a problem? Speak to me”.

“No tweet was identified. I am aware an (sic) disgraced cop was pissed because I outed him for allegations he is breaching data of rape survivors”

“There is so much going on, so far two GMP officers facing misconduct for perverting the course of justice”.

“They [GMP] think they have the power to decide what is a crime, fuck off gmp, you ain’t the judge.”

The ‘Vigilante’, who has targeted well over one hundred police officers and members of the public across a ten year reign of terror, is currently harassing Rick Pendlebury, a former GMP officer whom currently holds senior positions in The Maggie Oliver Foundation (TMOF), a rape charity to which Ponting constantly attaches himself on social media.

A refusal of tickets (by Ms Oliver not Rick Pendlebury) for the annual TMOF rape survivors charity ball was all it took to to trigger his latest hate campaign (read more here). Remarkably, he was allowed to attend the same ball last year whilst on police bail over stalking and harassment allegations. Maggie Oliver has previously endorsed Ponting publicly and the latter seeks to create the impression on social media that such patronage is still in place and he has direct access to her.

Ponting also routinely makes allegations of serious criminality against serving police officers on his Twitter feed and elsewhere. His latest venture on that theme was a failed, and vexatious, private prosecution against a Lancashire inspector (read more here).

Most, if not all, independent observers might fairly conclude that, given such extensive adverse background, the social media giant’s refusal to take action against Paul Ponting is perverse and irrational. But it certainly adds considerably to the public interest underpinning this article and will, no doubt, extend its shelf life. 

Twitter (X) no longer has a functioning press office, since it was taken over by Elon Musk in 2022, so no official comment or right of reply to this article can be sought from them.

Maggie Oliver was asked to comment on Ponting’s attack on Rick Pendlebury, and the impact upon her charity, but did not acknowledge the email carrying the press request.

A statement from GMP has been sought from their press office. They did not respond.

Follow Neil Wilby on Twitter (here) and Neil Wilby Media on Facebook (here) for signposts to any updates.

Page last updated: Wednesday 12th June, 2024 at 0745 hours

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Corrections: Please let me know if there is a mistake in this article. I will endeavour to correct it as soon as possible.

Picture credit: Twitter (X)

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© Neil Wilby 2015-2024. Unauthorised use, or reproduction, of the material contained in this article, without permission from the author, is strictly prohibited. Extracts from, and links to, the article (or blog) may be used, provided that credit is given to Neil Wilby Media, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Follow Neil Wilby on Twitter (here) and Neil Wilby Media on Facebook (here) for signposts to any updates.

Page last updated: Monday 3rd June 2024 at 0745 hours

Thank you for reading and a polite request: If you feel this article is of value and in the public interest, and wish to make a contribution to the running costs of this website, it would be very much appreciated. Donations can made securely (and anonymously if required), via Buy Me A Coffee at this link or via PayPal at this link.

Corrections: Please let me know if there is a mistake in this article. I will endeavour to correct it as soon as possible.

Picture credit: Twitter (X)

Right of reply: If you are mentioned in this article and disagree with it, please let me have your comments. Provided your response is not defamatory it will be added to the article.

© Neil Wilby 2015-2024. Unauthorised use, or reproduction, of the material contained in this article, without permission from the author, is strictly prohibited. Extracts from, and links to, the article (or blog) may be used, provided that credit is given to Neil Wilby Media, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.