Yesterday, former Sun journalist Ben Ashford was
found not guilty on two charges relating to his brief inspection of an
iPhone that did not belong to him. Had he been convicted, it would have been
the first such conviction resulting from Operation Tuleta, the Met’s
investigation into computer misuse. It was a relatively brief trial, and had
lasted just five days, with the jury out for only four and a half hours.
(c) Doc Hackenbush 2014
So nobody was going to make the elementary mistake of confusing
Ashford’s trial with the so-called Hacking Trial, which had lasted several
months. Well, nobody in the UK was going to make that mistake, but somewhere in
the reassuringly expensive part of Manhattan could be found a volunteer to go
in with both feet – without bothering to do a few minutes’ research first.
Yes, Louise Mensch, former Tory MP and now a pundit for
Creepy Uncle Rupe, who knows more than everyone else put together, decided that
this was indeed part of the Hacking Trial, whatever any of those pesky experts
said. “Yet another utter failure from the
phone hacking trials, yet another unjustified prosecution of a reporter”
she thundered.
Who would step up to put her straight? Lawyer Mark Lewis was
that man: “It wasn’t a hacking trial”
he stated plainly. Evan Harris added his own feedback: “That’s how [the] jury system works. By your logic, only trials with all
[charged] convicted should proceed. [The] Judge can dismiss [the case] at any stage”.
Neither of these interventions brought any acknowledgement from Ms Mensch.
So Matt Brannigan tried spelling it out to her: “[the] CPS found enough evidence to charge
[him], [the] judge found enough evidence to put before the jury. Where is the
failure?” Where indeed. Less wilful beings might at this point have stopped
and thought, but not Ms Mensch. She just put her foot in it once more.
Yes, she just carried on wibbling: “Ah the pleasure I get in thinking of [Nick Davies’] face when I read
this” she mused, citing the Guardian’s
report on the Ben Ashford trial. What would Davies have to do with that trial?
It wasn’t, as Mark Lewis had pointed out, a hacking trial, and that is Davies’
forte right now.
Ben Kirby stepped forward to break the bad news gently: “I can’t find any stories by Nick Davies that
refer to Ben Ashford. How does this have anything to do with him?” Once
again, answer came there none. What’s more, those who enjoy a bet might
usefully wager a few notes that Ms Mensch will include that in her next Sun
column. Written by someone who got into Oxford, and was allowed into
Parliament.
It’s punditry Jim, but
not as we know it.
2 comments:
your pieces invariably make me laugh, and i love them for it. but who gives a $h!t what louise mensch says about anything. she becomes ever more shrill and exhibitionist as her public platform crumbles beneath her designer shoes. it's pathetic really. but surely she's more of a mosquito in a tent on a camping trip than a political force that needs challenging on your hilarious and hard hitting blog?
There is a reason I unfollowed this woman back in 2012. She seems unable to use rationality when making comments. She used her parliament privilege to smear Piers Morgan despite being repeatedly told there were plain lies. She had to formally apologise and blaming a newspapers which I don't think is worth mentioning here.
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