Jo Swinson wins court bid to stop SNP ‘fracking’ leaflet

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has won her court case over an SNP leaflet which accuses her of accepting a £14,000 donation from “a fracking company”.

Ms Swinson asked the Court of Session in Edinburgh to stop the Royal Mail from distributing the leaflet in her East Dunbartonshire constituency.

The SNP’s QC had argued there was no “substantial untruth” in the leaflet.

Lord Pentland said a statement on the leaflet was false in substance, materially inaccurate and defamatory.

He said: “I don’t consider it would be right for an official election leaflet which contains a prima facie defamatory statement to be distributed by the Royal Mail.”

Lord Pentland ordered the party and its candidate Amy Callaghan to pay Ms Swinson’s costs.

The SNP’s legal team is considering an appeal.

‘No substantial untruth’

Roddy Dunlop QC told the court earlier that a director of Warwick Energy, a renewable energy company which holds licences for fracking, had made the £14,000 donation in a personal capacity to Ms Swinson’s constituency office.

The QC said the donation had not been made to Ms Swinson personally and had not come from a fracking company.

He added: “It does have a fracking licence but it doesn’t engage in shale gas fracking.”

For the SNP, Jonathan Mitchell QC said there was no “substantial untruth” in the leaflet. He said the money was from a “fracking source.”

He added: “These are allegations, disgraceful allegations, made against her which have been out in the public domain since June.

“The criticism is of her voting record and her connection to frackers.

“There is no substantial falseness in any of this.”