pleaded and pled

I may have promised another topic for this month's blog...but another request has (orig. AmE) come over the transom , and I'm easily distractable, so... Mike C from Shropshire asks: Even most BBC news reporters seem to be using “pled” as the past tense / past participle. … Any thoughts? Thoughts? Do I have thoughts? I am plagued by them! Pleading and plea-ing Let's start with a basic observation…