Former Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael will not be sacked as an MP following a ruling by a special election court.
In a judgment issued this morning (PDF download here), a petition challenging the Orkney and Shetland politician’s election was refused after judges ruled it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that he had committed an “illegal practice”.
The Election Court held that Mr Carmichael was duly elected and his election was not void in terms of section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983.
Four constituents raised the action against the Lib Dem MP.
They claimed Mr Carmichael misled voters over a memo which was leaked before May’s general election.
BREAKING: My understanding is Alistair Carmichael has been cleared by election court. Official announcement at 10.30.
— Kieran Andrews (@C_KAndrews) December 9, 2015
The court observed that Mr Carmichael had told a “blatant lie” when, in the course of a Channel 4 interview on Sunday 5 April 2015, he claimed he had only become aware when contacted by a journalist of a memo leaked to the press by his special adviser Euan Roddin.
But, on the matter of whether the lie could properly be characterised as a false statement of fact “in relation to [his] personal character or conduct”, the judges were left with a reasonable doubt.Reaction:‘Stressed’ MP attacks failed legal bid as ‘politically motivated’ Holyrood blog: Alistair Carmichael’s fate should always have been decided at the ballot box, not in the courtsThey explained that if a candidate made a false statement that he would never leak an internal confidential memo, no matter how helpful that might be to his party, as he regarded the practice of leaking confidential information as dishonest and morally reprehensible, and he would notstoop to such tactics, when in fact that candidate had leaked an internal confidential memo containing material which was inaccurate and highly damaging to an opponent, they would be likely to conclude that the candidate had given a false statement “’in relation to [his] personal character or conduct”.
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This is because he would be falsely holding himself out as being of such a standard of honesty, honour, trustworthiness and integrity that, in contrast with what others in Westminster might do, he would never be involved in such a leaking exercise.
Lady Paton said: “We are not persuaded that the false statement proved to have been made was in relation to anything other than the first respondent’s awareness (or lack of awareness) of a political machination.”
The judges were also satisfied that it had been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the first respondent made the false statement of fact “for the purpose of affecting (positively) his own return at the election”.
Furthermore, they considered the evidence established there was another purpose underlying the false statement, namely a desire not to be identified as being involved in the leak.
“Such self-protection would avoid his presenting as a less attractive electoral candidate for the voters in Orkney and Shetland,” added Lady Paton.
The election court in Edinburgh heard evidence from six witnesses over three days in November, in what was believed to be the first case of its kind in Scotland for 50 years.
The contents of the memo, published in the Daily Telegraph at the start of the election campaign in April, claimed that SNP leader and Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, would secretly prefer Tory leader David Cameron as prime minister rather than his Labour opponent Ed Miliband.
Mr Carmichael claimed in a TV interview at the time that the first he had heard of it was when he received a phone call from a reporter.
The newspaper said the first minister’s comments, reportedly made to the French ambassador, undermined claims that she wanted to build a “progressive alliance” with other left-wing parties.
Mr Carmichael – who was Scottish secretary in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition before the election and is now his party’s only MP in Scotland – authorised the leaking of a civil service memo by his special adviser.
Both the ambassador and the first minister later denied the accuracy of the civil service memo.
The court heard how a Cabinet Office inquiry into the leak was launched shortly after the newspaper article was printed on 3 April.
Mr Carmichael told the court he was initially “less than fully truthful” with the inquiry.
His lawyers argued his actions were political, and did not affect his re-election.