Episode 1 of 2
Trial Before Special Commission
- When
- 7 February 1803
- Where
- London
Despard was prosecuted by Attorney General Spencer Perceval before Lord Ellenborough in a Special Commission on 7 February 1803.
The trial relied on informers who named Despard as the ringleader of a United Britons conspiracy. Evidence included meetings with United Irishman Valentine Lawless and frequenting seditious conclaves in London ale houses. However, many alleged actions were attributed to persons Despard had never met, being several stages removed from his actions.
Sources
- Edward Despard Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-09
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.