Millionaire Lib Dem MP and adulterer John Hemming has, surprisingly, not responded to Lib Dem Watch’s latest story featuring him. We usually hear from him when he is featured on this site, so are disappointed on this occasion.
He is obviously a busy man at the moment. As well as dealing with fathering a baby with his researcher and fellow Birmingham councillor Emily Cox and keeping his marriage with Mrs Hemming together, our favourite MP is contemplating one of his favourite pursuits – libel!
Yes, as he reports on his weblog, he is contemplating suing newspapers that reported on his alleged 26 affairs. Given that these newspapers were quoting his wife’s claims, this could be a very interesting case to follow.
Talk Politics suggests how Mr Hemming may have tried to spin the story to his advantage with favourite journalists while The Observer’s Pendennis column reveals how Hemming let it all slip out:
Poor John Hemming, the hitherto obscure rookie Liberal Democrat MP who has the weight of the world on his shoulders now it has been revealed his mistress is pregnant. The pressure was showing last week when Hemming attended a lunch where he consumed an impressive amount of wine. When asked why he was so thirsty, Hemming, married with children, explained his misfortune and his fears the press would soon find out. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen an MP set out so energetically to sabotage his political career in one fell swoop, and only a month after his arrival in Parliament,’ said one who attended the same lunch, hosted by that well-known guardian of secrets, Private Eye.