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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (52602)	6/9/1999 11:49:00 PM
From: JBL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

A breeze of fresh air, from Great Britain : Former British Treasury Secretary Gets 18 Months For Lying About A Hotel Bill Electronic Telegraph June 6, 1999 Colin Randall Aitken's ruin ends in prison The self-destruction of Jonathan Aitken JONATHAN AITKEN was jailed yesterday for 18 months for perjury and perverting the course of justice, completing what was described at the Old Bailey as his self-inspired professional, political and personal ruin. Mr Justice Scott Baker told the 56-year-old former Chief Secretary to the Treasury that it was his duty to send out a message "loud and clear" that such crimes were likely to lead to condign punishment. Seated alongside the dock, Aitken's 18-year-old twin daughters Victoria and Alexandra burst into tears as he was sentenced. They had arrived at court hand in hand with Petrina Khashoggi, their father's illegitimate daughter by Soraya Khashoggi. The young women joined his mother, Lady Aitken, in waving and blowing kisses as Aitken was led down to the cells. Aitken will be held for some weeks at Belmarsh high security prison in south-east London before an assessment is made of where he should serve his sentence. He will be released after nine months, the remaining half of the sentence then to be suspended until the full 18 months have elapsed. Aitken admitted that he lied when he told a High Court libel case in 1995 that his wife, Lolicia, paid the bill of about £1,000 for a weekend stay at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. In fact, it was paid by an old friend and business contact, Said Ayas, an adviser to Prince Mohammed, son of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. Yesterday Aitken stood to attention but betrayed little sign of emotion as the judge told him: "For nearly four years you wove a web of deceit in which you entangled yourself and from which there was no way out unless you were prepared to come clean and tell the truth. Unfortunately you were not. "You hoped that by committing perjury and perverting the course of justice the truth of who paid the bill for that weekend at the Ritz would never see the light of day." The judge condemned Aitken on two "particularly serious aspects" of the offences. He said: "First, this was no passing error of judgment. It was calculated perjury pursued over a period of time. Second, you swept others, including members of your family, into it and most particularly one of your daughters who was only 16 at the time." This was, the judge said, a "gross and inexcusable breach of trust". The court had heard earlier of Aitken's deep sense of remorse, especially about his actions in drafting a statement for Victoria to sign in support of his account. The former Tory MP was said to have involved his daughter in a desperate attempt to salvage his libel action against the Guardian newspaper and Granada Television, maker of a World in Action programme about his affairs. Although during the 1995 trial the paper and television station had withdrawn some of the more serious allegations against Aitken, suggesting sleaze and corruption, evidence had emerged to challenge his story about the Ritz. In a statement admitting to his lies, Aitken had said he would bear the burden for the rest of his life of having "misled and manipulated" some of those close to him to lie on his behalf. The judge accepted that the offences were committed in the context of Aitken's belief that a number of serious allegations against him were false. He also accepted that his "paramount" objective in bringing the libel action had been to protect his reputation and not to earn money. He said: "But the fact remains that you knew perfectly well when you brought them that who paid for that weekend was a central plank in your case and that you could only succeed on that issue by committing perjury." No one, whatever his position or status, was entitled "dishonestly to manipulate the evidence to his advantage". Perjury and perverting the course of justice were serious offences because they struck at justice itself. Mr Justice Scott Baker gave Aitken credit for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity. He had already suffered other penalties arising from his actions: bankruptcy, impaired health and the loss of his career, reputation and marriage. He had also been a successful government minister who contributed very significantly to the interests of the country and a highly regarded constituency MP. Sir John Nutting, QC, defending, said Aitken had brought about his own destruction and suffered "absolute" public humiliation. It was to Aitken's profound relief that the Crown Prosecution Service had decided not to prosecute Victoria, and later to offer no evidence against Mr Ayas, who had also been charged in connection with the affair. Sir John said: "He has always wanted to shoulder the blame alone. It is the greatest consolation to him that he, the sole author of his misfortune and that of others, is to be punished alone." Aitken left the Old Bailey cells for Belmarsh Prison in a custody van which he shared with six men facing murder charges, five accused of armed robbery and two on rape allegations. The Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger said in a statement last night: "This case was about more than Jonathan Aitken. It was about the dishonest misuse of our libel laws to close down legitimate scrutiny of the people we elect to govern us. If Mr Aitken had won, he would have dishonestly taken up to £2 million from the Guardian by way of costs and aggravated damages. "The case should serve as a warning to future litigants who may be set on stifling scrutiny. Libel is not a game: it is too often used by the rich, the powerful and the crooked to suppress proper reporting and fair comment. No one using the law against others can complain if the law is, in turn, used against them." Lolicia Aitken announced the couple's separation immediately after the libel case and is suing for divorce. She now lives abroad because she fears that she might be arrested on returning to Britain for her part in her husband's attempt to deceive the High Court. Maria Aitken, Mr Aitken's sister, is to become the children's guardian. A trust fund has been set up for the twins and their brother William, 16, who is at Eton. Petrina Khashoggi is also a beneficiary. .