Alistair Carmichael: Lawyers trying to get legal move dismissed

Lawyers for Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael are seeking to have a move to oust him dismissed at a legal debate.

The case has been raised by four of his constituents in Orkney and Shetland.

They argue that Mr Carmichael misled the electorate over a memo claiming that SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon would rather have seen David Cameron become prime minister.

The case at the Court of Session was adjourned.

Mr Carmichael initially denied leaking the confidential memo to the Daily Telegraph, and claimed that the first he had heard of it was when he received a phone call from a journalist.

'Proposed arguments'

But he later admitted full responsibility for sanctioning its release, and accepted that the "details of the account are not correct".

The official cabinet office inquiry into the leaking of the memo found that Mr Carmichael had given permission to his former special adviser Euan Roddin to hand details of the memo to the newspaper.

Campaigners raised £60,000 in crowd-funding to lodge a legal challenge to his election under the Representation of the People Act 1983.

Roddy Dunlop QC, for the MP, told a judge on Thursday that he proposed advancing arguments on legal issues that if successful would lead to "effective dismissal" of the action.

The case will come back to court on Wednesday.