Alistair Carmichael’s battle to remain an MP is turning into a debate about whether it’s acceptable to lie in public office. The SNP are keen to talk the up the notion that Carmichael lied (and got caught) and therefore has to go. On the Today programme, his SNP opponent in Orkney and Shetland Danus Skene focused what Carmichael said when the memo was leaked vs. what has become apparent during the investigation:
‘The issue is not the offence but the cover-up, he did actually lie about this, by claiming at the beginning of April that he didn’t know about this memo until the journalist approached him about this … there is a lie here and that’s the difference between a slightly juvenile mistake.’
The former deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Malcolm Bruce lead the rebuttal on behalf of Carmichael. He blamed the SNP for the continuing furor, saying that ‘the nationalists are in full hue and cry’:
‘They have managed to win 56 out of 59 sets in Scotland on just about half the vote.
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