Tom Blenkinsop MP

Harry Tout House 6-8 Wilson Street Guisborough Cleveland TS14 6NA The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP House of Commons London SW1A 0AA 9 January 2011 CC: Ms Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, Executive Director, Coexistence Trust; Mr Farooq Murad, Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain; Mr Tim Farron MP, President of the Liberal Democrats; Mr Issan Ghazni, Chair, Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats. Dear Mr Clegg, I am writing to you to express my concern over the conduct and views expressed by Dave Stones, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the Newcomen ward by-election in Redcar & Cleveland, and those of his agent, Councillor Chris Abbott. The Political Scrapbook blog reported on Thursday 5 January that Mr Stones had posted several Islamophobic Facebook statuses. Mr Stones suggested that a topless bar called You Mecca Me Hotanda pork rib restaurant should be built across the street from a mosque, because then well see whos tolerant. Furthermore, Mr Stones posted a status saying that the Royal British Legion are not selling poppies in certain areas of the UK on 11th Nov this year. This is because some minorities say that it will upset them. I say f***off!. According to the Royal British Legion, this claim is categorically not true, and such smears could cause tension in Redcar & Cleveland communities. Mr Stones made the conscious decision to make these offensive, Islamophobic posts. His agent, Cllr Abbott, appears to attempt to excuse these disgusting actions by saying the statements had just been doing the rounds. This is no excuse. Mr Stones chose to repost them, and even encouraged others to do the same. The response of the local Liberal Democrat party to Mr Stones comments are also concerning.
Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Constituency Office: 6-8 Wilson Street, Guisborough, TS14 6NA Phone: 01287 610878 Email: info@tomblenkinsop.com Web: www.tomblenkinsop.com

Cllr Chris Abbott, the former Redcar & Cleveland Liberal Democrat Group Leader and the Liberal Democrat agent, said that he felt that the outrage expressed by several local residents to Mr Stones anti-Islamic comments was a total overreaction and that his blatantly prejudiced statements were jokey. Cllr Abbott does not appear to appreciate the gravity of the situation and how abhorrent Mr Stones comments are, instead choosing to trivialise them. This is extremely concerning and raises questions surrounding his personal judgement. Similarly, the lack of response from the local Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, Member of European Parliament and from the Redcar Liberal Democrat party is worrying. I would have thought that a party that claims to value multiculturalism would seek to distance itself from any such comments as soon as possible, as well as condemning them and the people who make them. I would perhaps have expected Mr Stones comments from a member of the BNP or the EDL, but not from a Liberal Democrat member, and certainly not a Liberal Democrat candidate. The idea that he could be involved in Redcar & Cleveland local government disgusts me when he has shown such a lack of respect towards its Muslim residents, many of whom are my constituents. Following instances like these and the events surrounding Cllr Warren Swaine in Reading, I would urge you to launch an inquiry into racism and Islamophobia in your party. As your party claims to have a zero tolerance policy on racist comments and behaviour, I would also recommend that you suspend Mr Stones from the Liberal Democrats and that Cllr Abbotts apparent complacency with such actions be investigated. The story at Political Scrapbook can be http://politicalscrapbook.net/2012/01/lib-dem-anti-islam-candidate/ . found at

I look forward to your response, and to learning about what action your party intends to take against the people who have behaved so disgracefully, in line with your zerotolerance approach. Yours sincerely,

Tom Blenkinsop Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Constituency Office: 6-8 Wilson Street, Guisborough, TS14 6NA Phone: 01287 610878 Email: info@tomblenkinsop.com Web: www.tomblenkinsop.com