Guardian: “Huhne and police clash”
Written by Stephen Tall on 14th December 2007 – 3:56 pmActually not quite as exciting as the paper’s teasing headline suggests (they didn’t come to blows):
Earlier this month Huhne, the Liberal Democrat leadership candidate, asked the Durham force to look into how the Labour supporter won planning permission for a business park off the A1 at Bowburn, County Durham.
Today he claimed today that a police investigation into the affair was still ongoing. Durham police emphatically deny this, saying that “there is definitely no police investigation”. …
It is understood that Durham’s head of CID, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Scott gave Huhne a “flea in his ear” last night for issuing an unhelpful statement. … Huhne’s office is still distributing the statement claiming that the police are continuing to investigate the matter - much to the annoyance of the force.
Huhne’s statement also says Scott has “detailed police crews to talk to the Highways Agency whose reversal of a decision to block the business park was crucial, and also the decision to accelerate the business park taken by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister now the Department of Communities and Local Government.”
A spokesman for the force insisted this afternoon: “There is definitely no police investigation.”
Posted in Leadership Election, News
14th December 2007 at 4:03 pm
Another Huhne story which, five months ago, would have been an Oakeshott scoop…
14th December 2007 at 4:26 pm
Huhne is a mythomaniac. Wasn’t his mum in a Superman film once?
14th December 2007 at 4:46 pm
If there isn’t a police inquiry it is pretty obvious there should be - and eventually, when the full sleaze story of Mr Abrahams and his friends comes out, there will jolly well have to be.
14th December 2007 at 4:55 pm
Does Chris Paul remember a certain T Dan Smith, by any chance?
Or Alderman Andrew Cunningham?
14th December 2007 at 5:35 pm
It is not unusual for the police to refuse to investigate serious and credible allegations against Labour figures made by Liberals. I have the tee-shirts and the scars.
14th December 2007 at 6:12 pm
Mind you, its not a good time for the government to be antagonising the police by refusing their full pay award is it?
14th December 2007 at 6:54 pm
Durham Police withdrew an invitation for Nick Clegg and I to visit Newton Aycliffe police station at less than an hour’s notice during the Sedgefield bye election after being leaned on by the (Lab) police authority chair. We ended up doing media interviews on the doorstep.
14th December 2007 at 9:28 pm
Tony Greaves’ comment reminds me of West Midland Police’s reluctance to investigate Labour vote farming in Brum. They called that investigation “Operation Gripe” apparently.
However, did Chris Huhne overplay his hand?