Cows, I must agree with you, that the LAA should not have been dragged into this.
In a better world, the Board of the LAA would have removed her from the scene, in terms of the award and membership, once the deception was obvious, without a need for the 2016 vote and publicity
But we are where we are, and we can't go back 4 months and not have the motions that are to be voted on tomorrow.
I think there might be a lot of support in the membership for a position of; Let her do and say what she likes, fool those who can be fooled and carry on with her... whatever it might be called, just don't involve the LAA in any of it.
I'm a firm believer in ignoring letters from Lawyers. A letter from the court is of course different, but unless someone starts a case and I get a citation or a summons, I don't actually care. A few years ago I received correspondence from a firm of solicitors who seemed outraged that I refused to engage counsel to represent me in a land dispute where the other guy had instructed some expensive brief, who obviously felt entitled to deal with someone else from his profession. In the end not only was I right all along, and the claimant deserted the case, poorer for having had to pay his legal costs, but his personal relationship suffered and he had to leave the country, as his other half had been named in the suit, but she had never wanted involved from day one.
As for "Reserving the right to take this to court." That's a load of Lawyer bollocks.
The LAA might well have ignored all "legal" correspondence, as the matter was settled when she was awarded the Trophy. When a motion was put to rescind it, the LAA, bound by their own procedures, took a vote.
Now the LAA seems to have allowed what is clearly a vexatious attempt to disrupt the position that vote at the 2016 AGM established as the will of the Membership. When faced with
her making statements to the BBC, such as "I have never made false assertions about the nature of my flights." anyone in aviation should be able to see which side of the line her name needs to be on. Clearly she is not alone, in needing to be removed from the playing field, to allow the important business of ensuring that recreational aviation is affordably available to the man (and woman) in the street.
Welcome to the Light Aircraft Association.
The LAA was established just after the end of World War Two with the aim of ensuring that recreational aviation was affordably available to the man in the street. Pre-war it had predominantly been the preserve of the better off.
Nearly seventy years later, the Association remains true to that ethos, demonstrating its commitment to affordability with its Permit to Fly airworthiness regime, and with its work in advocacy ensuring that the needs and freedoms of the recreational pilot are duly considered in a world where it is all too easy for Commercial Air Transport to take the largest slice of the cake.
We've been Making Dreams Fly since 1946, through our pioneering and innovative approach to make aircraft ownership truly achievable. Our strong sense of community in an Association that is inclusive of all types of aircraft from the home-built, vintage or classic to the inspirational cutting-edge, and that truly supports its members, makes flying a real Adventure.
So regardless of what you fly and your aviation dreams, the LAA is the right choice for you.
I am sure that by this time tomorrow we will still not have heard the last of this, until either an EGM or next year's AGM has a motion for the LAA to never have anything to do with her, full stop. Otherwise we can expect her camp to submit the current two motions again every year until they "win" or see sense.