The frontrunner to become the next prime minister of the UK is the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson. Mr Johnson is also a favourite of US President Donald Trump and the darling of Conservative party members. But he is now the target of an extraordinary private prosecution for misconduct in public office, based on allegations that he lied during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign. Marcus Ball, a member of the public who launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for legal costs, has accused Mr Johnson of abusing public trust and lodged a summons for him to appear before Westminster magistrates on Thursday.
One alleged lie was written on the side of his “Vote Leave” campaign bus. He claimed the UK sent £350 million a week to the European Union. Underneath were the words: “Let’s fund our NHS instead”. The possibility of £350 million extra a week for the National Health Service was described as "misleading" and a 'clear misuse of official statistics" by the UK Statistics Authority, and condemned as a lie by commentators and political opponents.
Mr Johnson has previous form in this area. He was fired by a newspaper for making up a quote and fired by a previous Conservative party leader, Michael Howard, for lying about his private life.
The most interesting thing about the court case is simply that it is happening at all. Reaction to it – like so much else in Britain right now – divides the country. Some politicians are expressing anger that lying might be criminalised. Others find it outrageous that politicians should meddle in a legal matter that is for England’s independent judiciary to decide. The judge clearly believes Mr Johnson at least has a case to answer and most British people trust the legal system more than they do politicians.
Whatever the court decides, the Johnson case reminds us that lying has been normalised in politics, and not just in Britain. As the BBC's former chief correspondent in the US, I spent a year of my life reporting on one particular lie, from then president Bill Clinton, about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Mr Clinton was later impeached and nearly ejected from the White House.
Recently, the Washington Post has produced a lie-count for Mr Trump. The newspaper calculated that by April this year, Mr Trump had told 10,111 lies in 828 days in office, averaging about 12 lies a day.
And yet as we enter the 2020 presidential election campaign, about 40 per cent of American voters support Mr Trump while a sizeable chunk of the British Conservative party backs Mr Johnson to be our next prime minister.
Personally I think Mr Johnson was a terrible foreign secretary, a poor London mayor and is unfit to be prime minister but I am uncomfortable with him being prosecuted for lying. It smacks of a political stunt and might even set a precedent for criminalising political differences.
In the US in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan’s presidency was blighted by politically inspired prosecutions in what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal. Democrats in Congress passed a law – the Boland Amendment – to stop the Reagan administration aiding right-wing “Contra” guerrillas in Nicaragua. But Reagan officials hatched a sneaky plot to continue the aid and were prosecuted as law-breakers. The scandal tied Washington in knots for months but in the end it fizzled out, after procedural difficulties over essentially politically inspired legal action.
Obviously facts, truth and acting lawfully in public life remain important. In Britain's heated Brexit debate, some politicians and activists distorted the truth and spent campaign money in ways that look less than honest. One politician stood in front of a poster showing a crowd of refugees as if they were all heading to Britain. They weren't. Some politicians claimed Turkey was about to join the European Union. It wasn't. More recently in the US, a video of House speaker Nancy Pelosi was doctored to make it look as if she was slurring her speech and perhaps drunk. She was completely sober.
Disinformation and lies are far from new in politics, even if the problem seems particularly acute now. Back in the 1990s, the British Committee on Standards in Public Life reported that politicians should abide by seven principles of conduct – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. In practice, such principles are often disregarded and yet those who break these principles – as it would appear Mr Johnson might have done – somehow thrive and are even promoted.
Rather than a criminal trial, there should be a constant public audit of politicians to hold them to account. In reality, we have precisely that. It’s called the free press. Journalists need to step up to the challenge and be more vigorous in exposing lies, and not shy away from the word “lie” when it is appropriate.
Voters should be more responsible too. It’s not good enough just to shrug as if it doesn’t matter when a politician is caught out as a liar. It will never be possible to eradicate lying from public life, but a more vigorous media and more critical voters would be a start.
And I am reminded of the old adage – fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. We have been fooled often enough. But lying politicians should not end up in court. They should be forced to search for alternative employment.
Gavin Esler is a journalist, author and television presenter
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Results
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
If you go
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Santiago, via Sao Paolo cost from Dh5,295 with Emirates.
The trip
A five-day trip (not including two days of flight travel) was split between Santiago and in Puerto Varas, with more time spent in the later where excursions were organised by TurisTour.
When to go
The summer months, from December to February are best though there is beauty in each season
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Results
4pm: Maiden (Dirt) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Moshaher, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Handicap (D) Dh165,000 2,200m
Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Maiden (Turf) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Rua Augusta, Harry Bentley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
5.45pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,200m
Winner: Private’s Cove, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
6.20pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 1,600m
Winner: Azmaam, Jim Crowley, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6.55pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,400m
Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.30pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 2,000m
Winner: Rio Tigre, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Company%20profile
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
