Dear Iain McNicol and Tom Watson,
You will be well aware of the ongoing situation in Wallasey CLP, which remains suspended months after allegations of supposed abuse were made against it. I’ve been asked to write to you by a number of Wallasey members who, understandably, do not wish to be named.
The NEC disputes panel produced a risible report that claimed ‘everyone was telling the truth’, even though that conclusion does not fit the known facts and Angela Eagle went so far as to thank Jeremy Corbyn for his support at the hearing, even though he went there to oppose her, which any reasonable person would say raises questions about her reliability as a witness.
Recent events have shed further light on the inappropriateness of how this was handled.
- The Guardian has issued a correction to its claim that the broken window was in Ms Eagle’s constituency office and has acknowledged that it was in a communal stairwell
- Merseyside police have confirmed that there is no evidence a brick was used to break the window, which directly contradicts the NEC DP report’s conclusions
- At least one set of allegations has been proven to be false – the claim that a Wallasey CLP officer was seen posting notices through the doors of members when that member has proved that he was hundreds of miles away, in London, on the date in question
Moreover, there has still been no report of the alleged ‘homophobic abuse’ to Merseyside police, in spite of it being a reportable incident and Labour party policy to report criminal abuse to police. This raises further serious questions about these allegations and those who have made them – if the accusations are genuine, there is no excuse for not following the proper process.
Wallasey CLP officers wrote an extensive report into all the events, but instead of reviewing the case and its handling you, Iain, initiated an investigation into them for writing it.
These are far from the only concerns, but these developments add further weight to the perception of Wallasey members and others that it is in fact the CLP that has been abused – and, in fact, continues to be abused through the continuing suspension and the uncorrected media impression that Wallasey members behaved in an abusive manner. As a ‘fake news’ item, this debacle should be high on the agenda of Mr Watson’s inquiry.
Will you, Mr McNicol, undertake to address and correct this abuse of process and justice without delay?
Will you, Mr Watson, undertake to include both the allegations and the media’s uncritical acceptance of them as fact in your ‘fake news’ inquiry? A previous letter to you with key questions about the inquiry has still had no response, so your reply to that as well is awaited with interest.
A prompt reply will be appreciated, so that Wallasey members do not enter 2017 with the uncertainty and smear hanging over them.
Thank you.
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