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Tory MP charged with rape

Lothian

should be banned
Lothian
Joined
Apr 3, 2002
Messages
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Location
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Those charged with rape are normally identified. Not something I necessarily agree with although I might. It is complicated.
Anyway it seems this time the name is not being shared. Apparently the Tories have known about this since Feb. Hopefully they have spent the last 5 months trying to get justice as opposed to keeping names out of the press.

We know it is an ex minister in their 50s. Assuming, perhaps wrongly, that they were moved out of their post after Feb I reckon it is


George Freeman or
Andrew Murrison or
Sajid Javid.

I am not a betting man but all my money is on Freeman. The beard makes him look dodgy.
 
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Funny how people like Cliff Richard and operation yew tree suspects can be named, even before being arrested, but somehow a tory MP has his name kept out of the press.
 
The only reason I can think of for not naming him is that naming the suspect would somehow enable the victim to be identified.
 
Lothian said:
Those charged with rape are normally identified. Not something I necessarily agree with although I might. It is complicated.
Anyway it seems this time the name is not being shared. Apparently the Tories have known about this since Feb. Hopefully they have spent the last 5 months trying to get justice as opposed to keeping names out of the press.

We know it is an ex minister in their 50s. Assuming, perhaps wrongly, that they were moved out of their post after Feb I reckon it is


George Freeman or
Andrew Murrison or
Sajid Javid.

I am not a betting man but all my money is on Freeman. The beard makes him look dodgy.
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Twitter thinks there’s at least another two possibilities (but I haven’t seen them named). At least one has been quiet on Twitter very recently.
 
Alex Salmond was vilified in the press and subjected to multiple articles clearly implying his guilt - even after he was acquitted. His accusers - who must have been lying given the nature of the acquittal - remain protected by the law. (Although half the population of Scotland must know who they are by now.)

So I fully expect the identity of this person to come to light.
 
Cosmic Yak said:
Or perhaps it's because he hasn't been proven guilty yet. False accusations can destroy lives. If/ when he's found guilty, that would be the right time to name him.
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I believe that the accused ought not to be named in rape cases, but as the law stands in the UK they are. So what is occurring here is unusual.
 
Rolfe said:
So I fully expect the identity of this person to come to light.
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I'm sure it will. The number of people it could possibly be is so low, and the number of people who will hear about it so high, that there are endless ways it could come to light. Either a newspaper will print it, and if they cannot for some legal reason then some MP is likely to use their Parliamentary immunity to reveal it.
 
Has he been charged? What I've read indicated that he's been arrested. That's not the same thing.

Yes, this tweet contains the Met's statement. He's been arrested, but not (yet) charged.
 
Agatha said:
I believe that the accused ought not to be named in rape cases, but as the law stands in the UK they are. So what is occurring here is unusual.
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The Met statement says that they don't release the names of anybody under investigation. I imagine it may be different if they're charged or if those charges are brought to trial.
 
Squeegee Beckenheim said:
The Met statement says that they don't release the names of anybody under investigation. I imagine it may be different if they're charged or if those charges are brought to trial.
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Which is true however it is very unusual for the press not to identify the person when they know who it is and given the high profile nature of the person involved I doubt they don't know.
 
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The picture of the Sunday Times front page on the BBC appears to have been redacted. I wasn't planning to go to a shop today to look at the actual front page, though.
 

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Rolfe said:
Alex Salmond.... His accusers - who must have been lying given the nature of the acquittal - remain protected by the law.
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Pretty sure Salmond isn't a Tory. He got off via a combination of not guilty and not proven if I recall.
I am surprised you seem to think trial verdicts somehow evidences guilt or otherwise. You didn't use to think that. Perhaps it all depends who is on trial.
 
Oh, cheers. Trying to prevent jigsaw identification, then, which is a good thing.
 
Agatha said:
The only reason I can think of for not naming him is that naming the suspect would somehow enable the victim to be identified.
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The alleged victim worked for him, easily identifiable.
 
Lothian said:
Pretty sure Salmond isn't a Tory. He got off via a combination of not guilty and not proven if I recall.
I am surprised you seem to think trial verdicts somehow evidences guilt or otherwise. You didn't use to think that. Perhaps it all depends who is on trial.
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Not proven is also an acquittal verdict.

It all depends on the evidence, actually. I happen to agree with the jury's assessment of the evidence in this case. However my opinion isn't what matters. What matters is that a man who was found to be innocent had his identity revealed at the very start and had his name dragged through the mud both before and after the trial. Nevertheless his accusers, whom the jury must have decided were lying, retain anonymity.
 
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