Woolas faces anxious wait

Former Labour minister and Oldham MP Phil Woolas may have to wait until next week to hear if his bid to overturn a decision stripping him of his seat has been overturned.

Three High Court judges have reserved their decision on his appeal and no date was given yesterday.

They said there were difficult questions to resolve and a ruling might not be given before next week.

Mr Woolas was challenging the verdict of a specially convened election court which sat for three days at Saddleworth Civic Hall in September.

It sensationally declared void the general election result in Oldham East and Saddleworth, when the court reconvened on November 5, the first decision of its kind for 99 years.

The Victorian law bars election candidates from knowingly making a false statement about the character of an opponent to get an election advantage. Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins, who was defeated by Mr Woolas at the May 6 General Election by 103 votes, used his Election Petition to claim Mr Woolas had made untrue personal attacks on him.

Two High Court judges, Mr Justice Nigel Teare and Mr Justice Griffith Williams, agreed and supported his petition that Mr Woolas had lied and knew he lied.

Their decision removed Mr Woolas as the MP and banned him from standing for election for three years.

On Tuesday and yesterday Lord Justice Thomas, Mr Justice Tugendhat and Mrs Justice Nicola Davies, sitting in London, heard arguments on Mr Woolas’ behalf that the election court misdirected itself in law and made a flawed decision.