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Friday, July 14, 2006

Kerron Cross

Curly defends a Labour Councillor!

Kerron Cross is a Labour Councillor in South Oxhey and he works as a senior Parliamentary Assistant to Labour MP Andy Reed, he is also an enthusiastic blogger. Yesterday he made a post on his blog detailing (verbatim) the content of the recorded voice message on the telephone belonging to Jack McDonnell, the man looking to be elected to the leadership of the Labour Party. There was nothing libellous or risky in the content that he posted, it was just a matter of fact report telling his readers what to expect if they telephoned McDonnell's office, yet the heavy handed McDonnell threatened legal action and bullied Kerron into removing the post. He also made an official complaint to Andy Reed and threatened to report both Cross and Reed to the Chief Whip of the Parliamentary Labour Party under new rules.

I don't believe the post should have been pulled but I understand his need to promote harmony within the party, I personally believe theat McDonnell has overreacted on a massive scale and shown to us all his credentials as a centralist control freak with a bigger streak than Blair!

Make your own minds up as I republish the post that Kerron pulled;

"Interesting message on John McDonnell MP's Westminster office answerphone at the moment, which goes something like this:

"You are through to John McDonnell's office, this is a very busy office, so in the interests of serving our constituents this office is closed for business on Wednesdays, and we only accept messages between 10am to 1pm Monday to Thursday."

Obviously that's messages between 10am to 1pm Monday to Thursday, except for Wednesdays, I presume.

So from this I take it that John McDonnell's office is open 3 hours a day, 3 days a week.

I bet he is grateful for that 10,847 majority. He may need it."

Kerron's blog, like this one does not receive hundreds of thousands of visitors per day, therefore his post would have not been too widely read, so to help him out Guido has republished it on his blog, as have many others, so perhaps now millions of people know when McDonnells office is open!

I feel this behaviour by the would be Labour leader is an outragious attack on Kerron Cross' right to free speech and freedom of expression and is betrayed as nothing short of bullying. The Labour blogger Recess Monkey suggests that some MP tables an early day motion along these lines;

Conduct of John McDonnell MP

That this House calls on the Member for Hayes & Harlington to retract his threat of legal action against blogger and staff member Kerron Cross, notes that Members are in a much more powerful position than their staff; and calls on Members to exercise restraint when in dispute with other Members’ staff.

I think I should contact David Miliband and see if he knows anyone willing to give it a go.

Links

Kerron Cross
Recess Monkey
Guido Fawkes

# posted by Curly : 6:51 pm

Comments:

Do you think he will do ought about it like?

# posted by

Anonymous : 7:34 pm