The Letters to the Beds on Sunday they did not print..

This article about Nadine Dorries in last weeks edition of the Beds on Sunday created quite a flurry of letters to the editor. However, the Editor has seen fit to not print A SINGLE ONE. Here are some of the letters that were written by locals:


Dear Keeley,
I was interested to read the article on Nadine Dorries and her alleged reasons for removing her twitter page and closing her blog. A number of recent events have caused me to doubt her version of events and indeed I am concerned about her honesty on a number of issues:

1 At a recent "Nadine Unscripted" meeting in Flitwick, she told an audience of about 30 people that 1% of the recent council tax increase was caused by the National Insurance increase, she presented this as fact. I was sure that NI had not increased, so I emailed Tricia Turner at Central Beds to find out if this was true. Tricia emailed me back to say that this was not the case, and that she spoke to Nadine to correct her. I have the email, so unlike Nadine, I do have evidence of this claim.

2 At another "Nadine unscripted" meeting she told a smaller audience that the reason there is a "problem" with gypsies, is that Northern Ireland has a zero tolerance approach to travellers, so they come to the UK mainland. I am from Northern Ireland, so again, I was pretty sure what she said was untrue. Sure enough, Jeffrey Donaldson, MP for Lagan Valley in Northern Ireland confirmed that provision is made for travellers sites, and there are 2 permanent sites, one in Omagh and one in West Belfast. There is also a very lengthy policy document online issued by the Northern Ireland Assembly, which Nadine could have found if she'd done the minimal amount of research. On the evidence of both of these meetings, it seems sensible that recordings are made so that false claims cannot be repeated to the electorate and presented as facts when they are not.


3 On her blog, she claimed that Chris Paul, a Labour activist, was outside her home in Woburn and was stalking her. He says he was nowhere near Woburn at the time.

4 At the Flitwick At The Crossroads meeting she claimed that she had reported Tim Ireland to the police for the vile emails he had sent her. The English Democrat election candidate claimed that she (Nadine) had threatened him with the police because he had written to her twice. I would suggest that if she is going to make such claims, she provides some sort of evidence or risk loosing any kind of credibility whatsoever.
A freedom of information request to the Houses of Parliament Police and Westminster Metropolitan police regarding the would surely uncover the truth regarding her claims about Tim Ireland.
With best regards and many thanks for printing your story
Sandra Robinson

Dear Sir
I read with interest your article relating to Nadine Dorries and her spat with political Blogger Tim Ireland. As someone who attended the hustings in question, and who hold absolutely no political affiliations, I was disgusted at Ms Dorries inability to distinguish between a personal spat, and her duty to her constituents. I wanted to hear her opinions and her answers to questions. It was obvious to all that she was going to win her seat, and with this safe seat it would seem comes a reluctance to listen to her constituents. After wasting much of the meeting arguing about Tim Ireland, she walked out against the wishes of most of the meeting. She advised that she had an important meeting to go to, but still spent 15 minutes outside, moaning about "Activists and stalkers".

Her decision to remove her blog and her twitter account is apparently on Police advice....I would love to see some evidence of this, as until I do, I suspect it is based on an unwillingness to answer questions about her personal conduct, her extreme views, and her self serving publicity seeking.

If this is the kind of public servant that is created by our archaic voting system, then the sooner we replace it the better. As for Ms Dorries position as our MP, I hope that she spends the next five years doing something positive and constructive for everyone in Mid Beds, rather than popping up every five years to remind us of her existence. I don't care what party she belongs to....I want less reality TV, more openness in all her dealings with us, and a sense that her position as MP is not taken for granted. I hope this does not make me a stalker in her eyes.
Keith Badham

Dear Sir / Madam,
I am writing in reference to todays article featuring our MP, Nadine Dorries.
Nadine Dorries actually left Twitter and closed down her blog after her victorious and frankly evil tweet about the esteemed Dr Evan Harris, her so-called "Dr Death Tweet". A "Twitterarmy" swiftly formed calling for her to apologise to Dr Evans and step-down.
This was swiftly followed by further expense allegations in the Daily Telegraph which I notice you have failed to report on. Ms Dorries' big mouth and repeated displays of arrogance, ignorance and downright paranoia have caused her to be silenced by the Conservative party, not by the police nor Mr Ireland.


Mr Ireland blogs and tweets as "@bloggerheads" on many issues and current affairs, Nadine Dorries is included but his blog is far from exclusively about her, despite her accusations. To his credit Mr Ireland is extremely careful about what he publishes and ensures he can back up any claims he makes. Unlike Ms Dorries it seems. I would like for her to supply crime numbers /dates etc to back hers claims up, however I think that this information will not be available as this is yet another ficticious statement to back up her latest slur.


I would also like to know why you have not published this story online, perhaps your website could be extended to allow for more local news. Today your front page carries a Hertfordshire story and disregards this one.
Regards, Sue Cullen

Sir -

How disappointing your newspaper has fallen for and repeated more of Nadine Dorries’ spin ("Tweet delete for MP after blog ‘problems’", Bedfordshire on Sunday, 23 May 2010). Instead of allowing Ms. Dorries to make vague innuendos, why did you not follow up with a couple of basic questions?


Why, for example, did Ms. Dorries walk out of the Flitwick elections hustings just because they were being recorded (with the chairwoman’s permission)? Given her usual rent-a-quotability, why exactly did she not want her words and actions filmed on this occasion?


Further, how does Ms. Dorries shutting down her blog starve Mr. Ireland of ‘oxygen’? Her blog has not allowed readers to post comments - critical or supportive - for a great many months, so he could hardly have been causing ‘problems’ in that regard.


Finally, rather than snidely insinuating allegations against Mr. Ireland, might the truth about Ms. Dorries’ withdrawal from Twitter actually be that she was driven away after hundreds of Twitter users (me included) took offence at her public insulting and ridiculing of the defeated former Liberal Democrat MP, Dr. Evan Harris?


Twitter users can ‘block’ other users they find offensive or upsetting. Ms. Dorries told Twitter users many months ago that she had ‘blocked’ Mr. Ireland. What exactly does she allege he has done of late to cause this supposed police advice?
It is hard to believe that Mid Bedfordshire could have a less edifying Conservative MP than Jonathan Sayeed, but Ms. Dorries is excelling herself in that regard. Were she not an MP journalists would dismiss her all-too-frequent ramblings for what they are: the self-aggrandising delusions of a drama queen more concerned with conducting personal vendettas (witness her risible efforts last week to unseat Speaker Bercow) and employing her daughters than with serving the public.


It is supposed to be the local media’s role to ask awkward questions of elected officials and Ms. Dorries has all too many questions to answer.


Yours faithfully,
Jonathan Westwood