New-York-Daily-News-cneifiwr-emlyn

Update 3.50 p.m. 20 February

Well, that's it. Ms Christina Michalos, Jacqui Thompson's counsel, concluded her closing remarks earlier this afternoon. Judging from the Twitter feed, neither barrister set the case alight today, but then it is worth remembering that the case was being heard by a judge alone with no jury.

Mrs Angry, the Barnet blogger, has done a fantastic job reporting from the courtroom, and I suspect there will have been quite a few Carmarthenshire council staff glued to her tweets.

The last few days have been particularly harrowing for Jacqui Thompson for several reasons, and she now faces a long wait for the verdict.

It would be nice to think that Mark James and the rest of the small group which has been running the council for so long have learned some valuable lessons, but the track record says otherwise. One of the key lessons is that if you don't want people to suspect you of corruption, the solution is openness and transparency.

As Talleyrand observed of the Bourbons, the likelihood is that they have forgotten nothing and learned nothing.


Update 1.44 p.m. 20 February

Proceedings began this morning with summing up by the barristers. First up was counsel for Mr James. The main point he made seems to be that some of Jacqui Thompson's blogposts were defamatory and based on no evidence. The offending articles were still online, and this was a personalised campaign which no one should have to endure.

Observers in court commented that the delivery of this closing speech was rather dull and lacking in passion.

Next up was counsel for Jacqui Thompson, who pointed out the imbalance between a lone housewife and a large local authority. Most of the criticism had been of the council rather than individuals.The judge intervened a couple of times to ask why parts of the blog alleged corruption when there was no evidence of it. While others had complained about the council's planning department and felt that they had been unfairly treated, the judge wondered whether that amounted to corruption.

The court is due to resume at 2 p.m.


Update 11.50am 20 February

Sure enough the Tories are having a field day with this story. While the court has been in session this morning, Eric Pickles has been on Twitter using the #daftarrest hashtag with the following message:

 Eric Pickles ‏@EricPickles

The James v Thompson trial draws to a close today, although the judge is not expected to deliver his verdict for several weeks. He will certainly have a lot to think about.

The last two days saw the council and its senior officers under the spotlight, and the result has been an unmitigated PR disaster for Carmarthenshire County Council. Things could have been even worse. Four council officers were cross examined on Tuesday morning, and at times the council's case descended into farce. At the last minute Mr James's legal team appeared to realise that putting the head of law, Linda Rees Jones, the former chair of council, Ivor Jackson, and the manager of the council's dire press office,  Debbie Williams, into the witness box would have been catastrophic, albeit highly entertaining, and their statements were suddenly withdrawn.

Observers noted that Mr James looked like thunder as his troops floundered.

Mr James told the court on Monday that his letter to the Madaxeman blog which led to the action for defamation had been written under pressure - particularly from elected councillors who had turned to him because they were concerned that the reputation of the council was at stake.

In subsequent questioning, James admitted that he had copied the letter to these concerned councillors only after it had been published.

In view of the press and media coverage the case has received during the last few days, Mr James and those councillors who turned to him may well be wondering what their actions have done for the reputation of the council.

Turning to the press, The Times today carries a leader about the case and a report on proceedings. The leader notes that last year Mr Justice Beaston told a court in Cardiff that public authorities needed to "possess a thicker skin and greater tolerance than ordinary members of the public" in respect of what was said and written about them.

The Times concludes, "Carmarthenshire council was clearly not listening. Indeed, whatever the outcome of the case in the High Court, it should be clear that the council has in both instances [the filming episode and the counter-claim brought by Mr James with tax payers' funds, Ed.] acted arrogantly and defensively. It has wielded excessive official and financial power against a lone citizen and has thereby become a case study in how not to behave in an era of transparency and accountability."

Elsewhere, there have been reports in other London papers, including the Daily Telegraph. Closer to home, the South Wales Guardian, another victim of the council's bullying, carries a report for the second week running, while the Western Mail concentrates on evidence given by Lyn Thomas, the council's retired former Head of Law.

The Carmarthen Journal did not find space for the case last week, but this week carries a fairly lengthy report on proceedings, together with some background. The article does not appear to be available online.

As usual, the James Journal gives the last word to Mr James himself, with a lengthy quote in which he accuses Jacqui Thompson of hypocrisy. And while the paper splashes the story on its front page with pictures of Mark James and Jacqui Thompson, the topic exercising the Editor in his comment piece this week is what is going to happen to our public toilets.

One final thought. Throughout the last week, a great deal of dirty Welsh linen has been on public display in London WC2. There are certainly plenty of rogue councils in England, and Eric Pickles is never slow to wade in and criticise some of the barmier goings-on. In Wales, on the other hand, the Welsh Government has adopted the policy of the Three Wise Monkeys despite repeated warnings over the years about the actions of the self-styled "best council in Wales". Indeed, it was probably consulted on the decision in to award Mr James a CBE for his services to local government in January 2012.

Carwyn and Co might like to wonder whether it is not just the reputation of Carmarthenshire County Council that is at stake here.