ArchieG wrote:I daresay Fiona wasn’t the only one saying that through gritted teeth. The BBC had to say that because, left unchallenged, they’d be broadcasting unproven allegations against a powerful and litigious person. That’s all. The once was proven, the fact that everyone thinks there’s very rarely such a thing as a one off is beside the point, legally. He would still win in court unless the BBC could find a witness to testify otherwise. And if such a person had been willing to come forward before, this wouldn’t have happened. As is so regrettably frequent in cases of violence against women, witnesses are hard to come by. I won’t open Stooo up to litigation by pursuing that to it’s logical conclusion.
That's less true than you might think.
I can understand exactly why Fiona Bruce said what she said, she was repeating words as they came into her ear and trying to concentrate on all the other things she need to do but whoever was putting words into her mouth from the gallery got it completely wrong.
The issue is there was no denial that Stanley Johnson had been violent towards his wife. Had there been a denial then the situation would be more or less as you said, and it's something we've seen almost every week as with many cases like
QT Guest - Boris Johnson lied to Parliament
FB - Boris Johnson says he didn't lie because he was only report the facts as he knew them at the time.
As long as Boris Johnson was saying he didn't lie it's right for Fiona to report it that way, curiously even after the forthcoming report which will say Boris Johnson definitely lied there may still be an obligation for her to say that he continues to deny it.
In this case however there was no denial.
If you want to know if someone is a wife beater you ask this is question
How many times did you beat your wife?
If the number they give as an answer isn't zero they have admitted to being a wife beater.
So if Fiona Bruce had said "these are allegations that have never been proven" it would have been OK, for her to say "it was only once" is the worst of all possible worlds.
[quote="ArchieG"]I daresay Fiona wasn’t the only one saying that through gritted teeth. The BBC had to say that because, left unchallenged, they’d be broadcasting unproven allegations against a powerful and litigious person. That’s all. The once was proven, the fact that everyone thinks there’s very rarely such a thing as a one off is beside the point, legally. He would still win in court unless the BBC could find a witness to testify otherwise. And if such a person had been willing to come forward before, this wouldn’t have happened. As is so regrettably frequent in cases of violence against women, witnesses are hard to come by. I won’t open Stooo up to litigation by pursuing that to it’s logical conclusion.[/quote]
That's less true than you might think.
I can understand exactly why Fiona Bruce said what she said, she was repeating words as they came into her ear and trying to concentrate on all the other things she need to do but whoever was putting words into her mouth from the gallery got it completely wrong.
The issue is there was no denial that Stanley Johnson had been violent towards his wife. Had there been a denial then the situation would be more or less as you said, and it's something we've seen almost every week as with many cases like
QT Guest - Boris Johnson lied to Parliament
FB - Boris Johnson says he didn't lie because he was only report the facts as he knew them at the time.
As long as Boris Johnson was saying he didn't lie it's right for Fiona to report it that way, curiously even after the forthcoming report which will say Boris Johnson definitely lied there may still be an obligation for her to say that he continues to deny it.
In this case however there was no denial.
If you want to know if someone is a wife beater you ask this is question
How many times did you beat your wife?
If the number they give as an answer isn't zero they have admitted to being a wife beater.
So if Fiona Bruce had said "these are allegations that have never been proven" it would have been OK, for her to say "it was only once" is the worst of all possible worlds.