Bad news arrives in a brown envelope

Whether it be benefit fraud, tax credit fraud, a court summons or a family problem, bad news
tends to arrive in a brown envelope (or these days on a Portal).

It might say that Universal Credit want to see your bank statements and you know that, when
they do, a problem will be revealed. It might your partner’s lawyer, saying you cannot see
your children.

The natural reaction is to freeze up and go into a blind panic. Perfectly normal. Almost
universal. You have to remember, however, that you are, in effect. on a stage in a play. From
that moment on, everything you do and say is evidence.

Above all, before you send an email or message or say something, remember that one day a
judge, a jury or fraud investigator might look at it or listen to it, so think before you speak and
above all before you press the “send” button.

We have all done it late at night, maybe after a few drinks. Don’t. Wait until the next day and
consider whether sending it is still a good idea.

If I am your lawyer, think “will Rodney give me a bollocking”!?