Government Doublespeak
The Chris Pincher affair is the latest example of a scandal that might have been much less impactful than it has become had it not been for the government’s attempt to obfuscate the truth.
For background, the MP was suspended from the Conservative Party last week because of allegations he had groped two men at a club in London. On its own that is a bad look for the current ruling party but a Downing Street spokesperson came out and said that the prime minister was not aware of any specific allegations against Pincher when he had been appointed as deputy chief whip. The BBC found that this was not the case and that Boris Johnson had been aware of the formal complaint.
Now things are getting worse for the government because a former senior civil servant in the Foreign Office has now confirmed this fact in a letter written to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.
A story that could have entered and left the news cycle in a day or two has now been hanging around for nearly a week because No. 10 thinks it can lie with impunity.
The only thing that makes this whole affair more ridiculous is the willingness of ministers to defend this position. Earlier on today, the Justice Secretary went on Good Morning Britain and appeared to not understand what the word ‘guilty’ means.
Doublespeak is a euphemistic misrepresentation of the truth and can be seen here as Raab tries to convince us that even after a complaint has been upheld, Pincher was not guilty.
It is a bizarre interview but also a worrying one because it suggests that the minister does not seem to understand one of the most basic legal concepts. “Guilty” is not a loaded terms when it accurately describes the result of an investigation.
How can this man be in charge of a new Bill of Rights when he doesn’t even have the fundamentals down?
This week in the podcast we look at a family case. The courts have an obligation to keep children from harm but how does that equate with the importance of children remaining with their parents in the family unit?
Episode link: http://uklawweekly.com/2022-uksc-17/
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