Swinson wins court ban on fracking flier
BY JAMES MULHOLLAND
LIB Dem leader Jo Swinson yesterday won a court bid to stop the SNP from distributing a leaflet accusing her of being a hypocrite over fracking.
In the flier, her Nationalist rival in East Dunbartonshire Amy Callaghan claims she took a £14,000 donation from a “fracking company”.
But Swinson’s lawyers said the statement was defamatory and sought an order stopping the Royal Mail from distributing the leaflet.
And the judge Lord Pentland ruled in her favour at the Court of Session, saying: “In my view, the petitioner has shown she has a prima facie case that the statement is defamatory.”
The leaflets were due to be distributed by the end of this week – just before the postal votes deadline.
The court heard the fliers said Swinson was a “hypocrite” because she received money from Warwick Energy – referred to as a fracking company.
But Swinson’s lawyer Roddy Dunlop QC said the donation was made in a personal capacity by Mark
Petterson, a director of the company, and had gone to Swinson’s constituency office.
Dunlop added that although Warwick held licences for fracking, it did not participate in the controversial gas extraction activity.
The QC added that 80 per cent of its output came from renewable energy.
The SNP’s lawyer Jonathan Mitchell QC said the claims contained in the leaflet did not meet the legal test for defamation.
He said the hypocrite remark was justified given Swinson’s past public statements in which she said she supported pro-environment government policies.
The SNP were ordered to pay Swinson’s costs.