I have deleted the content of this post at the request of my correspondent who said ‘I didn’t expect to see our conversation in the public domain. In fact I thought we were having a private conversation not a public one.’

I confess I don’t understand that. This blog is public and the circumstances in which I operate are set out at https://emergencylaw.wordpress.com/about-2/. Anyone who emails me with a question must expect that the answer will be a public answer – this is a public not a private service. Private answers imply a lawyer client relationship and come with both professional obligations and a professional fee.

I have removed the content – not because I think I had to nor because I think the answer, being an honest opinion, could cause harm. Rather I remove it consistent with a life philosophy of trying not to upset people, even though sometimes an honest opinion may do that. But I won’t do it again. If you email a question I do not get back to you and ask for permission to post the answer on my blog. Your permission is implied from the very fact you wrote to a blog author with a question on the subject matter of the blog.