London’s formerly very occasional Mayor Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson appears to be in a spot of bother, according to the BBC: “Boris Johnson has been ordered to appear in court over claims he lied by saying the UK gave the EU £350m a week. The Tory leadership candidate has been accused of misconduct in public office after making the claim during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.” And who is behind this move?
“It is a private prosecution launched by campaigner Marcus Ball, who crowdfunded £200,000 for the case … The preliminary hearing will take place at Westminster Magistrates' Court and the case will then be sent to the Crown Court for trial”. Bozza having to account for his dishonesty in a court of law? Well, well.
This, though, was merely the signal for the spin machine to be fired up, triggering a tsunami of misinformation and deflection, and as so often in the vanguard were the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog, who decided to play the man and not the ball. Or rather, they played the Marcus Ball.
“Campaigner To ‘Stop Lying In Politics’ Is Lying About His Political Campaign” howled The Great Guido yesterday. Ball was dismissed as “smarmy” (two thirds of the Fawkes team having a self-awareness fail there). It’s all down to “the establishment and dodgy bandwagon hoppers”, which describes the Fawkes massive very well. They even have a quote from “A source close to Boris”, or, as it is usually called, Boris.
But the story had been framed in the way the Tories wanted: it was a political prosecution. The law was being used for political purposes. From there it was not hard for the Tories to claim that it was an attempt to curtail their FREEZE PEACH.
Cue the faux knowledge of the Member for Times Long Past Jacob Rees Mogg, who sniffed in typically superior style “Politicising justice is a really bad idea and it's actually what happens in totalitarian regimes”. The idea that the judiciary is not independent, something our free and fearless press likes to do when they get a decision they don’t like.
Bozza’s fellow leadership hopeful Rory Stewart was also in the deflection game. “It’s completely ridiculous to try to take Boris to court in the middle of the leadership race - let’s talk policy - not personalities and prosecution. Let’s get this done”. Irrelevant. As was the intervention of Michael “Oiky” Gove: “Whatever view you take on Brexit, we must not try to close down debate. Contending opinions and vigorous argument are the essence of democracy. We should trust the public to decide on the merits of a political case. We should not try to criminalise free speech”. No-one is closing down debate.
Still, Gove’s pals in the press have been given their cue, and the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph knew what that meant - invent something. “Stop ‘politically motivated’ prosecution over Johnson’s Leave campaign claim, DPP told”.
And the Mail went even more screamingly batshit, with Stephen “Miserable Git” Glover telling readers “Putting Boris in the dock isn’t just dotty. It’s a deeply sinister attack on our freedoms”. What complete crap. No freedoms have been attacked.
But Bozza now knows that free speech may mean responsibility. Good thing too.
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6 comments:
“It’s completely ridiculous to try to take Boris to court in the middle of the leadership race -"
Wrong way round. May resigned during the court hearing.
A video of Boris Johnson lying through his teeth about the EU, funding, rules etc while campaigning for Brexit. This man could be the next Prime Minister?
https://youtu.be/zaMDe3eetc8
What sticks in my craw more than Boris Johnson's lies is his complete unrepentance when confronted with it by ITN. He did his usual thing and tried to make a joke out of it. If he ever gets anywhere near Number 10, the joke is on us. It's also equally hilarious to see his defenders bang on about democracy, where is the democracy in deliberately lying to the electorate further your own political ambitions?
Perhaps I could run my business. Perhaps I can rip people off. Perhaps I can be a cowboy builder. Perhaps I can be a rogue trader. Perhaps I can sell dangerous goods. Perhaps I can sell counterfeit items. Taking me to court would be ridiculous and wrong as it would get in the way of me running my business.
£350 million a week is about right. Look at ONS figures.
Yes we get some back to spend on what they tell us to but to get that we have to send the billions in the first place.
Blair, Brown, Dave, Osborne Carney etc etc need to be prosecuted if the lunacy in prosecuting Boris stands.
Note the part time judge works for a human rights law firm.
Europe is a gravy train for human rights lawyers.
There's the rub.
"Europe is a gravy train for human rights lawyers." The saddest trope of those for whom all problems could could have a simple final solution if only people didn't get in the way. Mr Ball and his lawyers have stated quite clearly that the prosecution is not an attempt to stop Brexit; it is about misconduct in public office, an offence where the authorities have been singularly reluctant to prosecute. It is hoped to set a precedent - candidates for election to public office may interpret and present facts as they wish, but not seek advantage through outright lies.
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