Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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 Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 6:53 pm Post subject: British MP Loses His Seat Due To Lying About Opponent |
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Article here.
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Former immigration minister Phil Woolas lost his seat as an MP today after an election court ruled that he knowingly made false statements about an opponent in May's general election.
The Labour MP is to be barred from the Commons for three years and the election contest for his Oldham East and Saddleworth seat re-run.
But Mr Woolas said he would fight the ruling - the first of its kind in 99 years - and was seeking a judicial review.
The specially-convened election court had heard that Mr Woolas stirred up racial tensions in a desperate bid to retain his seat in Oldham East and Saddleworth.
His campaign team was said to have set out to "make the white folk angry" by depicting an alleged campaign by Muslims to "take Phil out".
Liberal Democrat candidate Elwyn Watkins mounted the rare legal challenge over the statements made in a pamphlet and two mock newspapers distributed in the final stages of the election.
Mr Woolas won on May 6 by just 103 votes.
After today's ruling, his solicitor, Gerald Shamash, said on his behalf that he was instructing his legal team to seek a judicial review.
"This election petition raised fundamental issues about the freedom to question and criticise politicians," he said.
"The court has found that the election leaflets put out on my behalf contained three statements which breached Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983.
"The court accepted that all three statements were attacks on the petitioner's political conduct but held that the statements also related to the petitioner's personal character or conduct.
"In reaching this decision the court adopted an interpretation of conduct detailed in a case nearly 100 years ago when considering a 19th century statute.
"The court has decided that an election should be overturned and an MP should lose his seat and be incapable of being elected to the House of Commons for three years because statements which attacked a candidate's 'political conduct' were also attacks on his 'honour' and 'purity'."
It is up to Commons Speaker John Bercow to decide whether to initiate a by-election for Oldham East and Saddleworth immediately or wait for further legal proceedings.
The Speaker's office said Mr Bercow would make a statement to the Commons on Monday.
Lawyer Mr Shamash warned that today's judgment would have a chilling effect on political debate.
"Those who stand for election and participate in the democratic process must be prepared to have their political conduct and motives subjected to searching scrutiny and inquiry," he said.
"They must accept that their political character and conduct will be attacked.
"It is vital to our democracy that those who make statements about the political character and conduct of election candidates are not deterred from speaking freely for fear that they may be found to have breached electoral laws.
"This decision will inevitably chill political speech."
But, giving their judgment, Mr Justice Nigel Teare and Mr Justice Griffith Williams said Mr Woolas was guilty of illegal practices under election law.
He had attacked his opponent's personal conduct and character with statements that he courted Muslim extremists who had advocated violence against the Labour MP.
He had suggested Mr Watkins had refused to condemn such threats in pursuit of personal advantage. Both statements were untrue and Mr Woolas knew them to be, the judges said.
Mr Woolas was ordered to pay �5,000 to Mr Watkins - the sum he paid to the court when he launched the petition.
He will also have to pay the costs of the case to the petitioner. |
More at link. |
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