I will not apologise over hosepipe row, says Newbury MP

The People claimed in an article on April 8 that the environment and fisheries minister left a 15ft hosepipe running for two hours in the grounds of his 20,000-acre family estate in Englefield on April 6, a day after the hosepipe ban was enforced.
Mr Benyon has refuted the allegation and claimed that The People must have been responsible for turning on the hosepipe.
Now the newspaper has printed an article demanding that Mr Benyon apologise or it would seek legal advice over his ‘damaging claim’.
The Newbury MP has refused and told the Newbury Weekly News: “I’m comfortable about everything I’ve said in relation to this incident.
“I know where I stand,” he said, adding that he would leave it to other people to make up their minds about that had happened.
He then reiterated: “Neither I, nor my family, nor anyone who works for me used that hosepipe, or any other hosepipe since the ban was introduced. “
He added that he had nothing more to say on the matter.
The People claims that the reputation of its journalist, James Davies, who wrote the original article, has been blemished by Mr Benyon’s comments.
The 24-year-old reporter said: “I am at the beginning of my career and I have been accused of being unprofessional, devious and deceptive. Mr Benyon and his staff have smeared my reputation and my career could be put at risk.
“I did not turn on the tap and neither did my colleague.
“Because I work for a tabloid newspaper he has assumed the worst. But he is wrong. We need and deserve an apology.”
The People’s editor Lloyd Embley published the following statement: “Mr Benyon’s serious allegation has been repeated, in good faith, by numerous papers and websites. In addition, hundreds of comments have been left by the public on sites, many believing Mr Benyon’s line.
“We cannot allow his damaging claim to remain unchallenged. In Mr Benyon’s Westminster diary last year he wrote, ‘In politics to admit you are wrong is, for some reason, considered the first sign of madness.’ We would simply like him to keep his word.”
Mr Benyon has reported The People to Thames Valley Police for alleged trespass and has complained of the behaviour of the newspaper’s reporter and photographer towards his family, including his wife Zoe.
Mr Benyon has also written to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) over the issue.
A spokesman for the PCC, Jonathan Collett said: “I can confirm that we have received a complaint from Richard Benyon under clause one (accuracy), clause three (privacy), and clause four (harassment) of the editors’ code of practice.
“It will now be investigated by the commission under the terms of the code.
“Each complaint is judged on its merits and is dealt with as swiftly as possible.”