A few days ago, my partner pointed her rather basic smart phone in the direction of my aging mug and held the phone there, with amazing steadiness, while I talked at it for the next three minutes.
I argued that, if a holder of public office, or applicant for public office, or candidate for election to public office, is found to have lied, that person should be tried in a court of law.
As the theft, or forging, or defrauding, of money is seen and penalised as a crime, so equally should theft or forgery of the truth, through words, be seen and penalised. For language is no less central a currency for our society’s health and proper functioning than is money, and needs to be kept equally sound and trustworthy. Freedom of Speech is a right. But – and especially for those in positions of public responsibility – truth-telling is an obligation.
I argue finally that if, in our democratic society, we see the People as being sovereign, then to steal the truth from a Sovereign People, so that they cannot make a decision that is properly informed, is to strike at the heart of the state and its functioning and is therefore a crime of High Treason. I am not making that statement as a lawyer or in any precise legal sense, but in principle I believe the argument follows and holds.
I am supporting a campaign called Brexit Justice, being conducted by a young man called Marcus J. Ball. See : http://www.brexitjustice.com/ Ball is seeking crowd funding now to enable him to take Boris Johnson to court, for an offence in Common Law entitled “Misconduct in Public Office.” Specifically, what is being referred to is that notorious lie involving the NHS, writ large on the Brexit campaign bus painted red.
It has taken Marcus a while, first, to establish that there is indeed a case under this heading and, second, to form a legal team. But the case is now established and Lewis Power QC is ready to pursue it. If successful, it will set a precedent that will make all politicians pause before acting in a way that so grossly abuses their position and the people they are supposed to represent.
The video above can also now be found on the right of this blog’s home page and here on Facebook.