 | NEWCASTLE LIBDEMS CHALLENGED OVER GREG STONE'S INTERNET SLURS |
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Newcastle Conservatives have written to senior Lib Dems in Newcastle asking them to condemn the lewd and offensive comments written by the man they chose to stand for Parliament in Newcastle East.
A report in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph revealed that Greg Stone – also a city councillor representing North Heaton – had been making abusive remarks about senior politicians of all parties online for over a year, using the pseudonym ‘Inamicus’.
Dominic Llewellyn, the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Newcastle East, has written to Cllr. Stone urging him to write to each of the MPs he slurred – including David Miliband, Sharon Hodgson, Theresa May and Anne McIntosh – in order to apologise to them directly:
Dear Greg,
I was shocked to read in the national press yesterday about the lewd and offensive remarks you have been making under the pseudonym “Inamicus”. They are totally inappropriate and have no place in modern day politics.
I am standing for Parliament because I care deeply about the city and the nation we both live in. Far from engaging people in a positive vision of how you want to change this country for the better, your comments were sexually gratuitous at times and outrageously rude at others. They are precisely the type of comments which turn people off politics and they do not represent the values which I stand for: personal freedom, a commitment to the environment and a desire to protect the most vulnerable at home and abroad.
As such, I have written to Cllr. John Shipley as well as your fellow Liberal Democrat City Councillors in Newcastle East to ask them their views on your comments and whether they think you are fit to be a City Councillor and a Parliamentary Candidate.
I read in the press the apology you were ordered to make by Nick Clegg. Given the highly personal nature of your comments, will you write to each of the MPs you have slurred to apologise properly? I am copying this letter to each of the politicians mentioned in the press reports so far.
I am standing in Newcastle upon Tyne East because I believe in a new type of politics, one which is honest, fair and full of integrity; I am deeply disappointed you do not share my beliefs.
Yours sincerely,
Dominic Llewellyn
Parliamentary Candidate for Newcastle upon Tyne East
cc.
Roberta Blackman-Woods MP
The Rt. Hon. Hazel Blears MP
Nigel Evans MP
Sharon Hodgson MP
The Rt. Hon. Theresa May MP
Anne McIntosh MP
The Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP
Bill Olner MP
Paul Rowen MP
The Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith MP
The Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP
Theresa Villiers MP
Dominic has also written to Cllr. John Shipley, Leader of Newcastle City Council, asking him to condemn Cllr. Stone’s behaviour and to say whether he thinks Cllr. Stone is still fit to represent local people as a city councillor and as a Parliamentary candidate.
Dear Councillor Shipley,
I was shocked to read the revelations in the national press yesterday about Greg Stone’s remarks under the pseudonym “Inamicus”. I am writing to ask you whether you agree with me that they are totally inappropriate and have no place in modern day politics.
I am standing for Parliament because I care deeply about the city and the nation we both live in. Far from engaging people in a positive vision of how he wants to change this country for the better, Cllr. Stone’s comments were sexually gratuitous at times and outrageously rude at others. They are precisely the type of comments which turn people off politics and they do not represent the values which I stand for: personal freedom, a commitment to the environment and a desire to protect the most vulnerable at home and abroad.
I am sure you will agree with me that this sort of vicious and personal attack has no place in Newcastle politics. Will you therefore condemn Cllr. Stone’s behaviour and tell me whether you think he is still fit to represent local people in the Civic Centre and in Parliament?
Because of the unfavourable attention this matter has already drawn to Newcastle, I am making this letter available to the press.
Yours sincerely,
Dominic Llewellyn
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Newcastle upon Tyne East
Stephen Parkinson (Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Newcastle North) and Nick Holder (Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Newcastle Central) have written to the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidates in their areas, asking them to condemn Cllr. Stone’s comments and to tell local residents whether they think he is a fit person to represent Newcastle in Parliament.
Dear Cllr. Beadle,
I was deeply disappointed to read in the national press yesterday some of the lewd and offensive comments that your Liberal Democrat colleague and fellow Newcastle Parliamentary candidate, Greg Stone, has been writing on the internet over the course of more than a year.
Quite apart from the sexist and personal abuse that they contain, this type of behaviour is exactly the sort of thing which turns people off politics today. At the end of a year in which British politics has been brought to a particularly low ebb, politicians of all parties should be working hard to restore people’s faith in our political system and the good that it can achieve.
I am glad that the contest between us in Newcastle North has been a good-natured one so far, and I am sure you will agree with me that this sort of vicious and personal attack has no place in Newcastle politics. Will you therefore condemn Cllr. Stone’s behaviour and tell us whether you think he is still fit to represent local people in the Civic Centre or, as he hopes, in Parliament?
Because of the unfavourable attention this matter has already drawn to Newcastle, I am making this letter available to the press.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Parkinson
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Newcastle upon Tyne North
Dear Cllr. Kane,
I was deeply disappointed and saddened to read in the national press yesterday some of the lewd and offensive comments that your Liberal Democrat colleague and fellow Newcastle Parliamentary candidate, Greg Stone, has admitted to have been writing on the internet.
In a year that has seen trust and respect for politicians of all persuasions fall to an all-time low, this sort of behaviour is hardly likely to improve the public’s perception of and engagement in local and national politics.
Politicians of all parties should be working hard to demonstrate personal integrity, and I believe that your colleague’s behaviour has brought shame upon the Liberal Democrats nationally and on the Newcastle party in particular.
Will you therefore condemn Cllr. Stone’s behaviour and tell me whether you think he is still fit to represent local people in the Civic Centre or, as he hopes, in Parliament?
Yours sincerely,
Nick Holder
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Newcastle upon Tyne Central
 
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