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| Nigella Lawson incident: Standard urged to drop Charles Saatchi column | Nigella Lawson incident: Standard urged to drop Charles Saatchi column |
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| The London Evening Standard has come under fire this week for refusing to drop its columnist Charles Saatchi after he was cautioned by police for assaulting his wife Nigella Lawson. | The London Evening Standard has come under fire this week for refusing to drop its columnist Charles Saatchi after he was cautioned by police for assaulting his wife Nigella Lawson. |
| The paper said in a leader column on Thursday that it would be "irrational and unjust" to sack the multimillionaire art collector "just because it has been a wretched week for this marriage". | The paper said in a leader column on Thursday that it would be "irrational and unjust" to sack the multimillionaire art collector "just because it has been a wretched week for this marriage". |
| It maintained that his weekly column, which appeared in Thursday's paper, was "not relevant in its subject matter to recent events". | It maintained that his weekly column, which appeared in Thursday's paper, was "not relevant in its subject matter to recent events". |
| It is understood that Lawson, who has declined to be drawn into public debate about the incident in which her husband was photographed putting his hand round her throat while they were dining outside a London restaurant, did not wish the Standard to drop Saatchi's column. | It is understood that Lawson, who has declined to be drawn into public debate about the incident in which her husband was photographed putting his hand round her throat while they were dining outside a London restaurant, did not wish the Standard to drop Saatchi's column. |
| The paper said: "While this newspaper abhors violence against women, we do not see condemnation of an assault as a reason to intrude into the complexities of a couple's marriage. | The paper said: "While this newspaper abhors violence against women, we do not see condemnation of an assault as a reason to intrude into the complexities of a couple's marriage. |
| "Some people have called for us to drop Mr Saatchi's regular column on photography, which appears today in the newspaper. Our view is that the police decided a caution was a proper response to the offence. It is overstepping our jurisdiction to go further." | "Some people have called for us to drop Mr Saatchi's regular column on photography, which appears today in the newspaper. Our view is that the police decided a caution was a proper response to the offence. It is overstepping our jurisdiction to go further." |
| But the Standard's defence was attacked as a "whitewash" by high-profile critics, including the former Tory MP Louise Mensch and Daily Telegraph Mandrake diary columnist, Tim Walker. | But the Standard's defence was attacked as a "whitewash" by high-profile critics, including the former Tory MP Louise Mensch and Daily Telegraph Mandrake diary columnist, Tim Walker. |
| Mensch accused the Standard editor, Sarah Sands, of "apologising for domestic violence". "The amount of domestic violence apologism that has gone on is absolutely shocking," Mensch told BBC Radio 5 Live. | Mensch accused the Standard editor, Sarah Sands, of "apologising for domestic violence". "The amount of domestic violence apologism that has gone on is absolutely shocking," Mensch told BBC Radio 5 Live. |
| "Sarah Sands, a female editor who edits the Evening Standard where Charles Saatchi is a columnist, has actually put up an editorial column this afternoon saying that this is about their marriage. Well, it's not about their marriage. You can't consent to being assaulted. By accepting that caution, Saatchi has admitted a chargeable offence that he assaulted his wife. | "Sarah Sands, a female editor who edits the Evening Standard where Charles Saatchi is a columnist, has actually put up an editorial column this afternoon saying that this is about their marriage. Well, it's not about their marriage. You can't consent to being assaulted. By accepting that caution, Saatchi has admitted a chargeable offence that he assaulted his wife. |
| "An idea is being perpetuated through the media, particularly the Evening Standard where he is employed, that it's only domestic violence if the wife makes a complaint, we should leave their marriage alone. If a man assaults a woman in public, a high-profile multimillionaire, and focuses the nation on domestic violence the apologism is coming out from a female editor absolutely disgusts me." | "An idea is being perpetuated through the media, particularly the Evening Standard where he is employed, that it's only domestic violence if the wife makes a complaint, we should leave their marriage alone. If a man assaults a woman in public, a high-profile multimillionaire, and focuses the nation on domestic violence the apologism is coming out from a female editor absolutely disgusts me." |
| Sands has said she condemns domestic violence but was reluctant to "pronounce on their marriage". She added on Twitter: "I am on the side of the couple rather than turning them into a David Mamet play. Only they know." | Sands has said she condemns domestic violence but was reluctant to "pronounce on their marriage". She added on Twitter: "I am on the side of the couple rather than turning them into a David Mamet play. Only they know." |
| One senior Standard insider on Friday stood by the paper's stance, insisting that it was based on fairness and a reluctance to rush to judgment "where knowledge is partial". | One senior Standard insider on Friday stood by the paper's stance, insisting that it was based on fairness and a reluctance to rush to judgment "where knowledge is partial". |
| The leader was published opposite a column critical of Saatchi, by Rosamund Urwin, headlined "We simply can't excuse any man's 'playful' abuse". It published a further letter criticising the art collector on Friday. | The leader was published opposite a column critical of Saatchi, by Rosamund Urwin, headlined "We simply can't excuse any man's 'playful' abuse". It published a further letter criticising the art collector on Friday. |
| Both Mensch and Walker, who edits the Telegraph's Mandrake column, have pressed the Standard owner, Evgeny Lebedev, on whether he dined with Saatchi on Tuesday – a day after it exclusively revealed the first statement by the art collector following the incident, which was made public when the Sunday People splashed on 16 June with pictures taken by a freelance photographer. | Both Mensch and Walker, who edits the Telegraph's Mandrake column, have pressed the Standard owner, Evgeny Lebedev, on whether he dined with Saatchi on Tuesday – a day after it exclusively revealed the first statement by the art collector following the incident, which was made public when the Sunday People splashed on 16 June with pictures taken by a freelance photographer. |
| A spokesman for Lebedev declined to confirm whether the proprietor had dined with Saatchi this week. Asked whether Lebedev was involved in the decision to keep Saatchi's column in the paper, he said: "The decision to continue Charles Saatchi's column in the Evening Standard is an editorial one. The proprietor is not involved in the day to day running of the papers." | |
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