Last summer, Charlie Whelan’s lawyers threatened to sue The Spectator for an article describing him as a bully. The article was entirely correct. So what was he so keen to cover up? Fraser Nelson and Ed Howker investigate
The Labour rebellettes fear the creeping takeover of the party by the Unite trade union via Charlie Whelan. He has been taken on by female officers in the union and formally charged with bullying. Certain Labour women see the Brown-Simpson-Whelan alliance as part of a menacing testosterone-sodden axis. And one that needs to be challenged.
Spectator Coffee House blog, 24 May 2009
Two months later, a letter arrived from Mr Whelan’s lawyers. Carter-Ruck, the Brownites’ law firm of choice, insisted that their client had not ‘engaged in any sexist or bullying behaviour’ and that our post had caused him ‘considerable distress and embarrassment’ for which he sought damages and an apology. It was, at first, baffling: Mr Whelan is perhaps the most notorious bully in Westminster.
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