Legal Cheek reports as the blogging heavyweights go head-to-head in a spectacular Twitter bust-up
Still brimming with elation six weeks after being included in GQ magazine’s list of the 100 most influential men in Britain, media lawyer-journo David Allen Green (pictured) couldn’t resist one more celebratory tweet.
“I wonder if @LouiseMensch will buy as many copies of GQ this month as I did last month ;-)” he wrote yesterday to his close friend Mensch; the Tory MP having just done an interview with the magazine herself.
It was more than the self-styled godfather of legal blogging Charon QC (AKA Mike Semple Piggot) – a shock omission from the GQ list – could take.
“. @JackofKent @LouiseMensch Jeez… give it a rest… please… both of you…. enough already ?” wrote Charon, who decries hierarchy in all its forms, before adding: “:-) sick of all the aggrandising…”
Now, the 64th most influential man in the country doesn’t take shit like that.
Dusting down a freshly-laundered crisp white shirt of the type pictured above, Green hit back: “Ha ha – is what I do more, er, “self-aggrandising” as devoting whole blogposts to just your own tweets :-)”
Temperatures rose, and as is customary in Twitter bust-ups, both men went on to accuse each other of bullying, began dropping the smiley faces and, gripped by rage, forgot how to spell.
Green: “Ha ha, Mike – if anyone is routineley self-aggandising and petty-bullying, it is you, and you well know it.”
Charon/Mike (pictured): “You don’t appear to be that good at argument… the tweets I do are intentionally ironic… now get back in your box…”
There was more, much more, but it got a bit samey.
Then suddenly Charon remembered the podcast he co-hosts with Green (a kind of low-fi version of Legal Cheek’s RoundMyKitchenTable podcast, recorded under water).
“Went a bit too far with [DAG’s Twitter name] @jackofKent for which I apologise…rarely disagree with his law analysis..which is why I enjoyed podcasting et al. !” he wrote.
And the sun shone once more.
DAG: “Many thanks Mike, greatly appreciated. Happy to move on :-)”
Legal Cheek verdict: “64th most influential man in Britain” billing weighing heavy on Green as he fails to deliver knock-out punch, but lands enough blows to seize king of legal blogging crown from Charon on points