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News / Challengers’ QC: MP’s conduct ‘dishonourable’

QC Jonathan Mitchell asserted that Carmichael's conduct was personal as well as political because he had admitted that lying about leaking the memo had damaged his own personal standing.

THE QC representing the four constituents challenging Alistair Carmichael’s election has argued that the MP himself acknowledged that he had damaged his personal standing after lying about his involvement in the leaking of a political memo.

Addressing the Election Court on Monday Carmichael’s own QC, Roddy Dunlop, sought to persuade Lady Paton and Lord Matthews that he acted with political, not personal, motives.

The constituents raised £88,000 to launch a challenge to Carmichael’s re-election in May, when he saw off the SNP’s Danus Skene by 817 votes, following the revelation that he had leaked a memo falsely claiming that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the French ambassador she wanted David Cameron to remain as UK Prime Minister.

By falsely stating he was unaware of how the memo had been leaked, QC Jonathan Mitchell said Carmichael was guilty of ‘fundamental, dishonourable conduct”.

Completing his submission on Tuesday, QC Mitchell argued that Carmichael had breached section 106 of the 1983 Representation of the People Act by lying on Channel 4 News about his involvement in the leak prior to the election.

Mitchell cited a column in The Orcadian newspaper where the MP stated: “I understand that my behaviour has done damage to the relationship of trust I have with many of you as a member of parliament.”

Carmichael went on to say that the impact of his behaviour was felt “not just by me, but by my family, friends and supporters”, Mitchell pointed out – going on to claim that the MP had “characterised” the incident as being related to his personal character, not merely a political stance.

Lady Paton, however, responded by saying it was not right to “assume, just because there is a reference to family and friends, that this is personal”.

On Monday, Dunlop argued that the petitioners’ case should be set aside because it was “irrelevant” and “bound to fail”.

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He added: “The statutory provisions were introduced for clear and good reason: to prevent the traducing of private character for political gain. They were not introduced to allow disappointed electors to pour over every utterance of an opponent in an attempt to unseat him.”

Yesterday afternoon Mitchell pointed out that Carmichael had not disputed making false statements of fact in the national media.

“He doesn’t admit the word ‘false’ – the euphemism was ‘a mis-statement of awareness’… but he has described them elsewhere as ‘dishonest’ and ‘untruthful’.”

What was under dispute was the purpose of lying – Mitchell arguing that it had been to enhance his own re-election prospects and, by extension, damage those of the other Orkney and Shetland general election candidates.

Lady Paton and Lord Matthews will now consider the two sides’ arguments before announcing their verdict in the coming days.

You can read the petitioners’ note of argument in full here.

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