This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22168191
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Sally Bercow 'not some kitchen table blogger' | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Sally Bercow, who is being sued for libel over a tweet she posted, was not "some kitchen table blogger", the High Court has heard. | Sally Bercow, who is being sued for libel over a tweet she posted, was not "some kitchen table blogger", the High Court has heard. |
Lord McAlpine is seeking damages over the tweet which he says linked him to false claims of child abuse. | Lord McAlpine is seeking damages over the tweet which he says linked him to false claims of child abuse. |
The peer was falsely accused after a BBC Newsnight investigation. He was not named on the programme but was wrongly identified on the internet. | The peer was falsely accused after a BBC Newsnight investigation. He was not named on the programme but was wrongly identified on the internet. |
Mrs Bercow, the Speaker's wife, denies that her tweet was defamatory. | Mrs Bercow, the Speaker's wife, denies that her tweet was defamatory. |
Last November, a Newsnight programme accused a "leading Conservative politician from the Thatcher years" of sexually abusing boys in the care of a children's home in Wales in the 1970s and 1980s, but it did not name Lord McAlpine. | |
There followed widespread speculation about the politician's identity and, two days after the broadcast, Mrs Bercow tweeted: "Why is Lord McAlpine trending. *innocent face*." | |
She went on to apologise in four subsequent tweets, | |
The BBC apologised unreservedly to Lord McAlpine for wrongly and falsely implicating him. It settled his defamation claim for £185k. | |
Several other high-profile figures also mentioned Lord McAlpine's name on the social networking site, Twitter. | |
'Sealed cave' | 'Sealed cave' |
At Tuesday's hearing, Lord McAlpine's QC, Sir Edward Garnier, told Mr Justice Tugendhat that Mrs Bercow's Twitter following of almost 60,000 was bigger than the readership of some local newspapers. | At Tuesday's hearing, Lord McAlpine's QC, Sir Edward Garnier, told Mr Justice Tugendhat that Mrs Bercow's Twitter following of almost 60,000 was bigger than the readership of some local newspapers. |
"We are not talking about some kitchen table blogger addressing perhaps herself and one other person," he said. | "We are not talking about some kitchen table blogger addressing perhaps herself and one other person," he said. |
"We are talking about a pretty widespread readership." | "We are talking about a pretty widespread readership." |
Sir Edward told court that, in the context of the Newsnight broadcast and the media coverage, only "a moron in a hurry" or an "anchorite in a sealed cave" could not have known the meaning of the tweet. | Sir Edward told court that, in the context of the Newsnight broadcast and the media coverage, only "a moron in a hurry" or an "anchorite in a sealed cave" could not have known the meaning of the tweet. |
Ms Bercow's counsel, William McCormick QC, said she had promptly tweeted an apology, written letters apologising for the distress caused and making clear that the underlying allegations were untrue. | Ms Bercow's counsel, William McCormick QC, said she had promptly tweeted an apology, written letters apologising for the distress caused and making clear that the underlying allegations were untrue. |
He said she had made an offer to settle the case which had not been withdrawn. | He said she had made an offer to settle the case which had not been withdrawn. |
Neither Lord McAlpine nor Mrs Bercow appeared in court on Tuesday. | |
Granting an application by Lord McAlpine, the judge ordered that there should be a preliminary hearing on what was the actual meaning of the words used in the tweet - both a natural and ordinary meaning and an innuendo meaning. | Granting an application by Lord McAlpine, the judge ordered that there should be a preliminary hearing on what was the actual meaning of the words used in the tweet - both a natural and ordinary meaning and an innuendo meaning. |