Wednesday 23 July 2008

Too good not to

So, I'm weak.

Some of you may have noticed the latest (minor) Tory scandle - their PPC in Watford, Ian Oakley, has had his collar felt by Hereford's finest, in relation to hate crimes:

Ian Oakley, 31, resigned as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Watford after the allegations were made. He is on bail pending further police inquiries into “a series of criminal damage and harassment offences”. He has not been charged[...] According to the Lib Dems, senior party activists in the area have received offensive literature through the post, been subjected to anonymous telephone calls in the middle of the night, and been targeted in whispering campaigns.
I've been in two minds about posting anything on this. Partly because he's been arrested, not charged, innocent until proven guilty yadayada. Mainly because I knew Ian quite well when we were both at Durham, and I liked him, and it just seems a little mean. So I was leaning towards drawing a dignified veil over the whole thing.

Then, looking for more details, I found this, from Nov 06 and my resolve shattered:

At 6:47 PM, Ian Oakley said...
Hello My lefty comrades. I can assure you my quote was very deliberate. I intend to give 109% while Claire Ward continues to give 9%. As for my sartorial elegance I am not as well dressed as Tony Blair, but then again I don't think I am going to be interviewed by the police either!


Sadly, this is one of those situations where "We'll get it right next time" doesn't really cut it.

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