Woolas defends election paper

UNDER scrutiny . . . the election newspaper that sparked the court case

ELECTION TRIAL 2

PHIL Woolas took the witness stand to insist his election publications did not contain deceits.

The Labour MP accepted that he took full responsibility for them and had approved their final formats to ensure they were “on message” and contained nothing objectionable.

During cross examination by James Laddie QC, for Mr Watkins, he said he was aware of and agreed with rules on double-checking facts, not publishing anything you know is untrue, avoiding innuendo and not making allegations on candidates’ private lives unless relevant to conduct and can be proved.

He said he was fully aware it was against the law to make a false statement against other candidates.

He did not agree that a photograph of Mr Watkins superimposed in front of a photograph of two policeman meant it had been “doctored.” He denied that this was “deceitful”, saying it would be clear to the reader that it had been altered and that it had been done to demonstrate a legal matter that should be taken seriously.

“The message was that Mr Watkins had put out previously a statement that anyone who had broken the minimum pay rule should be prosecuted and I had reason to believe he had done that and I thought it hypocritical,” he said. Mr Laddie suggested that only the most suspicious reader with the sharpest eye could spot it had been altered — and pointed out that Mr Woolas criticised the Lib-Dems in 2005 for using a doctored photograph.

Mr Woolas said he deplored the stirring up of racial tensions and was sensitive after the Oldham race riots to the dangers of misrepresenting facts.

But he added that not addressing problems was also an issue addressed by reports into the riots.

Mr Woolas admitted that he had written several times in his diary that he was convinced he was going to lose the election — only to write after his election materials had been distributed that he felt things were moving his way.

He insisted that it was a diary of “highs and lows” and in earlier excerpts not published he had claimed, when in a better mood, he would win by a landslide.


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