This morning the world and his wife will have heard of Andrew Bridgen MP. By tomorrow evening, it's highly likely his reputation will have been trashed. By Sunday afternoon after all “family newpapers” gorge on his misery, his political career will probably be in ruins. And of his marriage?
Who knows.
Whether he is convicted, acquitted or totally exonerated, his two young boys will bare the scars of this ordeal for the rest of their lives. And his wife will always fear the curious stares in supermarkets and on the street.
If ever there is a wake up call to government to legislate that all parties in accusations of sexual crime should be anonymous, it is now.
The last attempt to bring some order in this ghastly inequality before the law was a disaster. Some government lawyer with the brain the size of a melon and the common sense of Cheryl Cole’s publicist, came out with a great wheeze. All those of accused of rape should remain anonymous until charge.
Well, I’m not going to insult your intelligence by explaining the pros and cons of this little cracker. But needless to say it rightly outraged women’s groups and was about as useful as a catflap in a submarine.
By making all parties anonymous in all sexual allegations of a criminal nature, nobody can say that this is an insult to women or downgrading their testimony. It is just about equality before the law.
But if the accused is found guilty, then a full-throated, blood-spattered press feeding frenzy should take place.
So what of Bridgen, whom I’m sorry to say I’d never heard of until this incident.
Well, he’s had a very uncomfortable meeting with plod and a more uncomfortable meeting with his wife. The children would have been sent off to granny with as brief an explanation as possible. He would have had to speak to his constituency association chairman, who has issued a statement saying that it is “very unlikely” that the allegations of sexual assault were correct.
Sounds like a man keeping his options open.
So Bridgen will issue a statement saying that it is all a pack of lies and the poor wife will be standing next to him shell shocked and dead behind the eyes, offering bewildered support.
Then he will have to pretend that life goes on as normal. Despite the fact that the redtops, freelancers and the flies that feed off the shit that will make a percentage out of him, will be pawing through his life. Schoolfriends, girlfriends and anyone wanting to make a fast buck, will be beating a path to the sainted Max Clifford. And he will have to put up with the horror of the press and assorted chancers camping outside his home.
It is going to be hell. But Sunday could be worse. Once a reputation has been trashed the press feel free to publish any old nonsense.
My advice to him is simple. Don’t give the story legs.
If it’s not true, issue a simple denial and shut up. If it is true, well, put your hands up straight away and bow out with a pretence of dignity. Don’t do what these sad expenses cheats did. And it’s only a month or so before recess, so just bugger off. But keep the whips informed.
Well this is just an MP. Think of those “real” people accused of sexual offences who will never hit the redtops, but will be pariahs in their own communities. Ostracised, abused; outcasts. And that is if they are acquitted.
It is time the government acted. The accused and the accusers deserve to have their privacy respected until one of them if found out as a wicked liar.
Then unleash hell.
UPDATE 1600 Andrew Bridgen MP has today issued the following statement:
"The allegations made against me are wholly false and without foundation. Fortunately, they are also demonstrably and provably false.
I have been happy to cooperate fully with the police and I am completely confident that, after proper investigation, I will be fully exonerated.
"This has caused real hurt and distress to my friends and family, and must be a concern to my constituents. I am naturally angry that I have been targeted in this mischievous and damaging way, and I will be taking advice about this. But I would like to thank my constituents and colleagues for the many messages of support that I have received"
Mr Bridgen added that he did not plan to make any further statements while police investigations were under way.
Comments
Ed Simpson / June 10 2011 4:09pm
Yes, because when someone is found not guilty it automatically means the accuser was a 'wicked liar'.
There is a reason that the law regarding sexual assaults can't be adequately detailed in a 200 word post on a blog.
Vera Baird / June 10 2011 5:17pm
The problem with giving anonymity to defendants in all sexual offence cases is the same as that of giving it to rape defendants, namely that the overwhelming majority of complainants are women and the implication that they are so unreliable that defendants must be protected from them remains in play. That undermines further the confidence of women who already face the ordeal of talking about intimate matters in a public court. They would embark on that frightening task knowing that the legal system has a low expectation of their credibilty, ie not expecting to be believed.
There is press outcry when someone is named as a defendant in murder and other offences. Remember how Mr Jefferies, the Bristol landlord of a recent murder victim was pilloried and defamed when he was arrested for a murder that someone else has since admitted.
A Tory MP recently introduced a Private Members Bill to give all accused anonymity at least until charge. Although our sytem has always favoured open justice, I was sorry that the Bill was not debated so that contemporary views could be gauged on that much broader question
Jerry Hayes / June 11 2011 9:31am
Vera, I think that you are right about the way women used to be treated when making serious allegations of a sexual kind. Thirty or so years ago when you and I started prosecuting and defending these sorts of cases the attitude of the police was nothing short of scandalous. But mercifully we have come a long way. Lawyers can no longer dig up past sexual behaviour just to blacken the character of a complainant. The trouble is 24 hour media now puts the accused at a disadvantage. There is almost an equality of arms European point here. But is is right that we have an informed debate. And the sooner the better.