Right-wing rag opens itself to legal action and exposes shameless bias of ‘mainstream’ media
MP Claudia Webbe today lost an appeal against her conviction on a single count of harassment, despite an appeal judge concluding that her accuser had lied extensively in sworn evidence to police and the courts and the fact that the Met Police had not disclosed vital evidence to Webbe’s legal team until six months after the first trial, in a magistrate’s court.
But the judge said that the significance of the new evidence was so great that and the stress that Webbe had faced so severe that she both reduced Webbe’s sentence and ordered the majority of the compensation, which Webbe had been ordered to pay by the magistrate, to be returned to her – and reduced the classification of the offence to Category B3 instead of the Category A the prosecution had sought.
And the judge specifically and unequivocally rejected claims – never evidenced in court at any point – that Webbe had ever made any threat to throw acid on the woman who was having – and hid in court – with Webbe’s then-partner.
As a result of widespread misreporting of that ‘acid’ claim by the so-called mainstream media last year, together with the appalling lack of support from Keir Starmer’s Labour, Webbe received an avalanche of foul racist abuse – and was targeted for murder by two men.
But despite the judge’s absolutely clear order, the right-wing Daily Mail in its eagerness to continue smearing her has just repeated the vile, false allegation in its reporting of the appeal outcome:
The tweeted headline led to a string of responses containing further abuse of Ms Webbe. It is not yet known whether she will take legal action against the rag for its staggering disregard for truth, but the paper has disgraced itself and incited further racist hate toward a black woman MP whom the judge accepted had been misrepresented and whom the police mistreated.
The Daily Mail has been contacted for comment.
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We will need to read the full article before deciding if the Daily Mail engaged in libel against Webbe.
It is very possible that the Daily Mail engaged in a vitriolic headline with the purpose of selling more newspapers. However, if the Daily Mail in the body of the article reports the true: that the judge dismissed the claim that Webbe menaced Merrill with an acid attack and that the judge considered that Merrill lied extensively.
I am afraid the Daily Mail will get away with it as disgusting and racist as it is.
I understand that this was a hearing only at Crown Court level, rather than in the Court of Appeal proper. I hop that Claudia will now be able to pursue further the appeal against the verdict.
The usual tactic is to put such stuff in inverted commas. They didn’t do that, so that lays them open to being sued.
Noticed that meself. Can’t see it going any further than a sentence or two stashed away in their corrections & clarifications section, given the amount of shite they get away with .
corrections@dailymail.co.uk in case anyone wants to complain to them.
From the Independent….
MP Claudia Webbe loses appeal over conviction for harassing love rival
Former Labour MP who threatened woman with acid found guilty for second time
Awaits the excess and torygraph takes which will be the same…
…Then more of the same from the Tv news
And as if IPSO’ll put things right; and even if they do, by then it’ll have been forgotten about due to another few dozen de piffle/toerag transgressions (That will also go by because the MSM will play them down) will be newsworthy.
Persistent lies about a black, left wing MP? Nothing to see here folks, move on… There’s a war on y’know…
JoeRobson, this could be argue is libel and I hope that Claudia Webbe claim damages from the Independent.
More of the same on Labour List. No surprise there.
I think neither of the papers will get away
with false headlines – even if there are
corrections in body of text – because I
think that has previously been judged
as slander.
I hope that Claudia pursues this – rather
than a second appeal for it might be enough
for the press to think again about how they
report cases like this.
There was also the woman friend of the “victim”
chatting to the police when they had been told
not to by the judge.
I made an error either on this thread or elsewhere.
It was the prosecution who made much of the
fact of Merritt phone messages providing a
motive for Webbe’s harassment – not the judge.