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The same argument has been put forward by Johnson’s defence according to the court documentation released;
“It is submitted that the facts alleged by the Applicant do not come close to establishing a qualifying breach of duty. None of the acts complained of took place in the course of Mr Johnson's direct parliamentary or mayoral duties, but in the course of political campaigning. In no case is there the slightest connection between the statistic in issue and Mr Johnson's public duties, and at no point is it alleged that he had, or claimed to have, any special knowledge or authority in relation to them. There is no trace in the allegation of the abuse of the powers of the office, of corruption or of any dishonest motive. The motive alleged is that, like all those involved in any form of political debate, Mr Johnson sought to present the publicly available facts in a manner which supported the position he wished to advance.
The Applicant complains that in doing so, Mr Johnson "failed to check the accuracy of that which he chose to advance", or that he presented the statistics in a manner which, by reason of the use of a gross figure when a net figure was called for, was misleading and wrong. These are common complaints, the kinds of complaints which are the proper substance of political debate, public contradiction and the judgment of the electorate, all of which ensued in this instance.
If there were some genuine element of impropriety, the conduct would presumably merit investigation by the bodies charged with the maintenance of the standards of the office holder, here the Greater London Authority and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The latter of course is responsible for ensuring compliance with the very Code of Conduct upon which the Applicant now relies. The Applicant has made no such complaints.”
The response from the Judge is that holding public office comes with “influence and authority”
42. I do not accept those submissions for the purpose of considering whether there is prima facie evidence of this aspect of the offence. I accept that the public offices held by Mr. Johnson provide status but with that status comes influence and authority.
43. I am satisfied there is sufficient to establish prima facie evidence of an issue to be determined at trial of this aspect. I consider the arguments put forward on behalf of the proposed defendant to be trial issues.
It’s going to be interesting what kind of precedent this case sets. As for other politicians being called into account for equal (alleged) misuse of demonstrable facts, I fully agree. If we don’t expect politicians campaigning for our support to be truthful with actual facts, what else are we happy for them to lie about? |
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Author: psikey
26-11-2019 01:04:52
