Kerry McCarthy - the twitter twatter czar. Downfall.

The Red Rag has a few things to say about the bovine faced MP for Mogadishu East, Kerry McCarthy an so I have taken the liberty of copying his words below:
Kerry McCarthy, Gordon Brown's 'Twitter Tsar', could face six months in prison or a £5,000 fine after she illegally published the results of an election vote online.

A statement from Miss McCarthy was later issued by the Labour Party. “On hearing the results of a random and unscientific sample of postal votes, I posted them on Twitter. It was a thoughtless thing to do, and I very quickly realised that it was not appropriate to put such information in the public domain.”

This could be considered a storm in a teacup, a minor mistake made by a naive young MP. The facts though are somewhat different, Kerry McCarthy was a solicitor and has been charged with rallying the troops on Twitter. The 'sample' she posted showed Labour with a strong lead and were specifically intended to motivate her supporters and thus effect the outcome of the election.

If ever the maximum penalty was called for it should be for somebody who was deliberately trying to influence the outcome. There is no doubt that this was Kerry McCarthy's intention. Six months please M'lud.

McCarthy has been reported to the police and they will no doubt follow due process, however given this candidate has broken the law and has interfered with the electoral process any win for her should not be allowed to stand. The returning officer should be encouraged to seek urgent legal advice to identify what can be done to prevent a result being declared in favour of a candidate who has committed a crime to influence the result.

So why not drop a line to Stephen McNamara, Acting Returning Officer for Bristol East.

Stephen McNamara
Acting Returning Officer
Electoral Services
The Exchange
Corn Street
Bristol
BS1 5TR

or email him at electoral.services@bristol.gov.uk

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