Bradley apology finally appears – after prompting – but will he face suspension for ‘code of conduct’ breach?

Last Updated: February 25, 2018By

Will Tory chairman Brandon Lewis sack vice-chairman Ben Bradley for breachiing the Conservative Pary’s code for candidates with his libel of Jeremy Corbyn? Don’t hold your breath waiting…

After his promise to apologise to Jeremy Corbyn for a vicious and baseless libel was published at lunchtime yesterday, Tory vice-chairman Ben Bradley finally published his apology – nine hours later.

No reason has been given for the delay.

Was he trying to hide it? Mr Bradley had promised to ask his followers to retweet his apology. Posting it at 10.28pm on a Saturday night, on a medium in which messages scroll off-screen very quickly, could be seen as an attempt to minimise the publicity, and therefore the damage.

Notice also that the tweet came after the main TV channels had broadcast their late-evening news programmes.

There were plenty of opportunities to publish earlier, but the tweet finally arrived three hours after This Site published an article asking where it was.

After I put out the piece, I noticed a significant number of tweets to Mr Bradley from people tweeting the link to it and asking the same question.

Was that the reason he finally published? Was he timing his tweet to be too late for mainstream news programmes? Or was he just trying to ensure that any retweets happened overnight, when hardly anybody in the UK would see them?

It doesn’t really matter because the agony should not be over yet for Mr Bradley.

In case you’ve forgotten, the Conservatives launched a new code of conduct for candidates on January 14, in which new party chairman Brandon Lewis promised that Conservative candidates would be suspended if they insult rivals.

Well, libel is about the worst insult a person can inflict on another. And former Labour deputy leader John Prescott hasn’t forgotten:

This Writer has no illusions that any suspension will happen. The new Tory code is for candidates, not sitting representatives.

But then, when Mr Lewis announced it, he tried to use it to suggest Labour’s John McDonnell should be penalised for comments he made about Esther McVey several years ago.

Sauce for the goose?

Of course, Mr McDonnell had no reason to fear censure for his comments about Ms McVey.

Her behaviour, both in the past and as the current Work and Pensions Secretary, shows she is a “stain of inhumanity”.


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5 Comments

  1. aunty1960 February 25, 2018 at 4:59 pm - Reply

    Apologies are Cheap and Sorries are meaningless. and every politician knows it is cheap and easy. Just say your sorry like Mum said does not cover the harm and offence caused. Its like there is no offence or no real harm done as long as everyone just apologises and makes a public posturing of it.

    Mud sticks and accusing Jeremy Corbyn of being a Traitor is a serious thing, as Andrew Neil said it was an offence punishable by DEATH and to compare Corbyn with Kim Philby these people really are cut off and delusional and no comprehension of real and false dangers.

    Sorries are Cheap and Easy and they know this I would have his head and career on a plate. Its a Serious Offence what he did and I am sure the spy was set up to say it.

    Spin makes everything seem just a mater of PR

  2. Roland Laycock February 25, 2018 at 5:19 pm - Reply

    There is no way they will sack more like give him a medal and I bet the tory party paid the bill with taxpayers money

  3. Stu February 26, 2018 at 12:34 am - Reply

    Seems to me that the Tories in their arrogance are trying to demonstrate how much they can get away with.

    Perhaps their new slogan should be –
    “Better to seek forgiveness than ask permission”

    This is the behaviour of petulant toddlers not professional politicians,

  4. NMac February 26, 2018 at 11:35 am - Reply

    This is a meaningless and cynical ploy by the corrupt and squalid liar Bradley.

  5. JJ February 26, 2018 at 11:04 pm - Reply

    crocodile smiles – now they pay trolls to do their work for them instead – never trust a tory.

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