JH: If there is a media storm against you, as you suggest, it’s for a number of reasons apart from this. It began with the revelation of your affair with your secretary. There are now reports, and they’re circulating on the internet, as you know, that you have had other affairs – is that true?
JP John, you’re doing exactly what you read in the paper, you did it once to me before on the Minerva building…
JH: I’m asking you a question.
JP: Well, and I’m trying to answer it my best way in the context of what you do John. You remember that I had an argument with you, tried to get on the air to deny it, you suggest I’d made a planning decision in regard to a man who’d made a contribution to the Labour party, wouldn’t let me come on the programme…
JH: Not true, but let’s not go down that road.
JP: I know, but an absolute lie anyway, it’s never ever been corrected on your programme. That’s the first point. Coming back to the point about these allegations…
JH: I asked you whether you’d had any other affairs apart from that with…the one we know about.
JP: I told you what the answer is, I’ve given a statement about that – I made a mistake, I’ve owned up to it [unintelligible] that is life and I’ve made a statement and I’ve certainly paid the price for it.
JH: Have you had other affairs?
JP: Hang on I watched Newsnight last night and the pressures you know, most people don’t, I think it’s called the internet or blogs or something – I don’t know, I’ve only just got used to letters John, I haven’t got into all this new technology, but I would say the guy on television last night who does that says ‘I have no evidence for these allegations I’ve made’.
JH: So they’re not true, are they?
JP: There’s no truth in much of the stories that are made in the paper, but John …
JH: So you have not had other affairs? It’s a very straightforward question …
JP: I told you, listen, you’re talking about a lot of people here who have in fact denied these stories. Names have been mentioned, some of them are in the process of perhaps suing about it – I’m not going to get involved in that – I’ve made my statement about making a mistake and I’ve told that I’m leaving it at that. But I notice the guy that’s making these allegations says there’s no evidence for it, so why are you justified to keep on trying to push this? It hurts so many people –
JH: Because I wanted to give you, would still like to give you, the opportunity to clear it up once and for all to say: ‘I made that mistake with that particular lady I have had no other affairs’.
JP: I’ve made my mistake and I’ve made my denials. It doesn’t make any difference of course to what the press say.
