And Others Who Need To Know

This has been popped through my letterbox without even so much as an envelope, but with a covering note saying: “Received in the post before close of nominations. Didn’t you get it? We’re all surprised you never mention it”: 

To Councillor Joanne Carr, Councillor Ivan Jewell, Councillor Jane Brown, Councillor Malcolm Clarke, Councillor Jude Considine, Councillor Ossie Johnson, Councillor Olwyn Gunn, Councillor Fraser Tinsley, Councillor Elizabeth Cook, Councillor Alison Gray, Councillor Bill Gray, Councillor Margaret Gray, Councillor Kevin Leary, Councillor Lorraine Montgomery, Councillor Stuart Walker. 

On 23 or 24 September 2019, on the personal orders of Home Secretary Priti Patel, the following people were placed under investigation by MI5 and Special Branch for ties to terrorist organisations in Ireland, Syria, Lebanon, “Palestine” and Kashmir, and for ties to the governments of Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran: Laura Pidcock MP, her partner Daniel Kebede, her political adviser Ben Sellers, and Sellers’ associates Charlotte Austin and Tom Raeside. 

Pidcock and Kebede’s home in Lanchester, Pidcock’s office in Consett, and Sellers’ home and shop in Durham, are all under surveillance as a top priority, along with all these people’s mobile phones, email addresses, social media accounts and so on. If you sign Pidcock’s nomination papers for the General Election or actively support her in any way, you too will immediately become subject to the same treatment. In fact that would happen as soon as she won her seat again: you would all be placed under surveillance for possible ties to terrorist organisations in Ireland, Syria, Lebanon, “Palestine” and Kashmir, and for ties to the governments of Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran. 

This letter has been copied to Councillor Amanda Hopgood, Councillor Alan Shield, Councillor Richard Bell, Councillor John Shuttleworth, the Northern Echo, the Lanchester Village Voice, David Lindsay, and others who need to know.

Gosh. Well, where does one even begin? At the beginning, I suppose.

Councillor Joanne Carr, Councillor Ivan Jewell, Councillor Jane Brown, Councillor Malcolm Clarke, Councillor Jude Considine, Councillor Ossie Johnson, Councillor Olwyn Gunn, Councillor Fraser Tinsley, Councillor Elizabeth Cook, Councillor Alison Gray, Councillor Bill Gray, Councillor Margaret Gray, Councillor Kevin Leary, Councillor Lorraine Montgomery, and Councillor Stuart Walker, some of whom are very old and dear friends of mine, did you, or did you not, receive this communication? 

Is it, or is it not, the reason why none of you, who are the Labour members of Durham County Council in this constituency and the Labour members of Lanchester Parish Council (where Laura Pidcock lives), has signed Laura Pidcock’s nomination papers, or has appeared to do the slightest campaigning on her behalf?

Laura Pidcock, Daniel Kebede, Ben Sellers, Charlotte Austin and Tom Raeside, at least to the best of your knowledge, on 23rd or 24th September 2019 (that is, during the Labour Party Conference), were you placed under investigation by MI5 and Special Branch for ties to terrorist organisations in Ireland, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Kashmir, and for ties to the governments of Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran? 

At least to the best of your knowledge, are Pidcock and Kebede’s home in Lanchester, Pidcock’s office in Consett, and Sellers’s home and shop in Durham, all under surveillance as a top priority, along with all these people’s mobile phones, email addresses, social media accounts, and so on? I suppose that you do now know these things, since the Councillors who received this letter will have told you.

And Councillor Amanda Hopgood, Councillor Alan Shield, Councillor Richard Bell, Councillor John Shuttleworth, the Northern Echo, and the Lanchester Village Voice, since I never received this, did you?

I do not know from where this was posted, but if it had had a local postmark, then it would probably have been laughed out. I am guessing that it came from London. And it certainly did its work.

I look forward to seeing one and all at the hustings at Lanchester Cricket Club on Monday evening from seven o’clock.