If you are facing a trial that could end up with you spending several years in prison, it is great to have a lawyer who is politically “on side”, and has a wry sense of humour and a clear disdain for much of the legal and political establishment. So I was fortunate that the first time I was a defendant in a political trial, my solicitor – in his first high-profile political case – was William Nash.
The 1974-75 case – involving 14 pacifists and anti-militarists facing conspiracy charges relating to the distribution of information to British soldiers telling them how they could leave the Army – ended up, thanks to the commitment of Bill and others, with defendants, solicitors and barristers working collectively as a team; and with political as well as legal considerations to the fore.
Over the following years, Bill went on to do similar, and frequently similarly successful, sterling work for many of my friends and comrades.
