26 June 1997 Edition
Television: Low lying in high places
It would be tempting to see the fate of the liar Jonathan Aitken as a metaphor for Britain's Conservatives. He is, after all, just like the Tory party; well brought up, smug, rich, addicted to power, cynical to an absolute, and a moral vacuum. He too is now vanquished, disgraced and, with any luck, consigned to the dustbin of history.
But in his attitudes and behaviour, Aitken was merely mimicking many successful politicians around him; men and women who believe, correctly for the most part, that the rules simply do not apply to them.
Much as our own politicians would wish us to believe it, this pattern of moral bankruptcy is not unique to Britain. There are several TDs who could learn from a sober scrutiny of the Aitken tale, two in particular were recently re-elected.
These are people who either do not know or do not care to know the difference between truth and falsehood, and who, spurred on by greed and arrogance, proved willing to do or say anything that served their own interests.
Perhaps it is more than coincidence that both are adulterers, and both have the distinction of not only betraying their spouses, but also of cheating on their adulterous partners!
Because the libel laws in the South are even more repressive than in Britain, this column is not able to name either. But readers can ask themselves the following question: Which Irish public figures told a series of lies, each one more ludicrous than the last, to cover up an uncomfortable fact?
For knowledge of Aitken's uncomfortable fact - that he was compromised by his relationship with the Saudi royal family and willing to turn his family into perjurers to protect himself - we have The Guardian newspaper and World in Action (UTV, Mondays, 8.30 p.m.) to thank.
This week, after the exposure of the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, World in Action was up for a spot of gloating, and given the huge sums that Granada Television could have lost in court, who could blame the programme?
It began with the famous quote from Aitken, one that we should all remember the next time we hear a politician attempting to take the high moral ground against a news organisation:
``If it now falls to me to start a fight to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in this country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of traditional British fair play, so be it.''
In 1995, World in Action `doorstepped' Aitken after he repeatedly declined an interview. As he ran for his ministerial car, the programme makers asked him about his links to the Saudi royal family.
His main contact with the Saudis was Prince Mohammed, a fabulously wealthy playboy, and a favourite son of King Fahd.
Aitken was so anxious to get his tongue into the honeypot of Saudi loot that he was willing to do almost anything for the prince. He purchased shares and hid their ownership from the authorities, he bought property and cars, he became involved in shady arms deals.
At one stage, he tried to procure prostitutes for a group of Saudi businessmen who were ``bored'' in England.
One man who knew Aitken explained: ``He doesn't follow the normal behaviour of people like you or I. He thinks he's above such things, he can do anything, he can get away with anything, he can say anything and he can pretend it's the truth. But I'm not sure he even knows what the truth is. Truth and fantasy are all interwoven with each other.''
In December 1993, Aitken stayed in the Ritz hotel in Paris, and, in breach of House of Commons rules, allowed Prince Mohammed to pay his bill. He later lied, claiming that his wife had stayed there too, and that she had settled the account. He persuaded his wife and his daughter to back up this story, and was willing to have them perjure themselves to this end.
Unfortunately for him, credit card receipts and airline tickets proved that Mrs Aitken and her daughter were in Switzerland, not Paris, at the time. Caught, he dropped the case. This week Scotland Yard said it was considering bringing charges of perjury against him.
Ending the programme, the managing editor of Granada, Ian McBride, seemed saddened by the affair: ``What it actually showed us was an amazing insight into the way that Jonathan Aitken and people like him deal with legitimate enquiries.''
By Michael Kennedy
But in his attitudes and behaviour, Aitken was merely mimicking many successful politicians around him; men and women who believe, correctly for the most part, that the rules simply do not apply to them.
Much as our own politicians would wish us to believe it, this pattern of moral bankruptcy is not unique to Britain. There are several TDs who could learn from a sober scrutiny of the Aitken tale, two in particular were recently re-elected.
These are people who either do not know or do not care to know the difference between truth and falsehood, and who, spurred on by greed and arrogance, proved willing to do or say anything that served their own interests.
Perhaps it is more than coincidence that both are adulterers, and both have the distinction of not only betraying their spouses, but also of cheating on their adulterous partners!
Because the libel laws in the South are even more repressive than in Britain, this column is not able to name either. But readers can ask themselves the following question: Which Irish public figures told a series of lies, each one more ludicrous than the last, to cover up an uncomfortable fact?
For knowledge of Aitken's uncomfortable fact - that he was compromised by his relationship with the Saudi royal family and willing to turn his family into perjurers to protect himself - we have The Guardian newspaper and World in Action (UTV, Mondays, 8.30 p.m.) to thank.
This week, after the exposure of the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, World in Action was up for a spot of gloating, and given the huge sums that Granada Television could have lost in court, who could blame the programme?
It began with the famous quote from Aitken, one that we should all remember the next time we hear a politician attempting to take the high moral ground against a news organisation:
``If it now falls to me to start a fight to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in this country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of traditional British fair play, so be it.''
In 1995, World in Action `doorstepped' Aitken after he repeatedly declined an interview. As he ran for his ministerial car, the programme makers asked him about his links to the Saudi royal family.
His main contact with the Saudis was Prince Mohammed, a fabulously wealthy playboy, and a favourite son of King Fahd.
Aitken was so anxious to get his tongue into the honeypot of Saudi loot that he was willing to do almost anything for the prince. He purchased shares and hid their ownership from the authorities, he bought property and cars, he became involved in shady arms deals.
At one stage, he tried to procure prostitutes for a group of Saudi businessmen who were ``bored'' in England.
One man who knew Aitken explained: ``He doesn't follow the normal behaviour of people like you or I. He thinks he's above such things, he can do anything, he can get away with anything, he can say anything and he can pretend it's the truth. But I'm not sure he even knows what the truth is. Truth and fantasy are all interwoven with each other.''
In December 1993, Aitken stayed in the Ritz hotel in Paris, and, in breach of House of Commons rules, allowed Prince Mohammed to pay his bill. He later lied, claiming that his wife had stayed there too, and that she had settled the account. He persuaded his wife and his daughter to back up this story, and was willing to have them perjure themselves to this end.
Unfortunately for him, credit card receipts and airline tickets proved that Mrs Aitken and her daughter were in Switzerland, not Paris, at the time. Caught, he dropped the case. This week Scotland Yard said it was considering bringing charges of perjury against him.
Ending the programme, the managing editor of Granada, Ian McBride, seemed saddened by the affair: ``What it actually showed us was an amazing insight into the way that Jonathan Aitken and people like him deal with legitimate enquiries.''
By Michael Kennedy