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| Alistair Carmichael case: Legal bid to oust Lib Dem MP fails | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A legal action challenging the election of Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has failed. | A legal action challenging the election of Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has failed. |
| Four constituents raised the action against Mr Carmichael under the Representation of the People Act 1983. | Four constituents raised the action against Mr Carmichael under the Representation of the People Act 1983. |
| They claimed he misled voters over a memo which was leaked before May's general election. | They claimed he misled voters over a memo which was leaked before May's general election. |
| The petition was refused after judges ruled it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that he had committed an "illegal practice". | The petition was refused after judges ruled it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that he had committed an "illegal practice". |
| The Election Court noted Mr Carmichael had told a "blatant lie". | |
| However, on the question of whether the lie could properly be characterised as a false statement of fact "in relation to [his] personal character or conduct", the judges said they were left with a "reasonable doubt". | |
| They held that his election was not void. | |
| Mr Carmichael said he was "absolutely delighted" with the ruling. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 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. | |
| Analysis | |
| BBC Scotland political reporter Philip Sim | |
| It's hard to imagine that Alistair Carmichael is the only MP heaving a sigh of relief in light of the election court petition against him falling flat. | |
| This is far from the first time an elected representative has colluded in leaking a "politically beneficial" document, and it's hard to imagine it's the first time a politician has told a porky in a TV interview. | |
| What made the Carmichael case fascinating was the extent to which it lifted back the curtain and let the public peer into the murky detail of life on the political front line. | |
| The crucial thing in the case hasn't been whether or not Mr Carmichael lied - he admitted as much. | |
| The important thing was whether this lie was just politics, or a matter "in relation to personal character or conduct". | |
| As in every case, the judges are largely constrained by the exact wording and letter of the law - and Lady Paton and Lord Matthews decided they couldn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Carmichael's lie fit the very specific box drawn by the law. | |
| What was the case about? | |
| However, it later emerged that he had authorised the leaking of the 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 - who was Scottish secretary in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition before the election and is now his party's only MP in Scotland - 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. |