Nadine Dorries Joins the Health Select Committee

Several people have expressed concern at the recent appointment of Nadine Dorries to the Health Select Committee. Below are some extracts from blogposts and articles written by some of those who were disappointed by the news.

Dorries is driven by ideology to the extent that she ignores evidence that does not suit her and uncritically promotes any evidence that does suit – whether this information is at all reliable or not. [From a post I wrote on the appointment on my blog Stuff And Nonsense.]

To put this comment in some context: Dorries has questioned the findings of a Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry into Scientific Evidence Relating to the Abortion Act 1967, but repeated uncritically the hand of hope hoax and dubious pre-term survival figures. The Skeptical Voter website also reports that Dorries has: claimed that the Trident nuclear weapon system cannot be classed as weapons of mass destruction; signed the March 2007 Early Day Motion 1240 calling for the positive recognition of NHS homeopathic hospitals; and warned that an embryo research bill could lead to a hybrid "humanzee".

Others have commented on the appointment and expressed their disappointment:

It may shock you to learn that Nadine Dorries is also on the committee. Dorries is no friend of rational thought, and has tirelessly campaigned to radically reduce the lower limit for abortion. Her honesty is perpetually in question, her expenses still under investigation in the new parliament. [An article by Adam Rutherford on the appointment of Tredinnick and Dorries.]

Nadine Dorries, putting her questionable grasp on human biology briefly to one side, was a member of the Science and Technology Select Committee in the 2009-2010 session. During that time the Committee held thirty-two meetings, Nadine Dorries attended none. [...]

Dorries is clearly more than happy to dismiss evidence which does not agree with her personal convictions. A dangerous trait to find in someone serving on a parliamentary health committee. [The 21st Floor]

Over the years, Dorries has issued a number of ill-founded claims about abortion. They include the fairytale "hand of hope" story that she helped to propagate across the web; the incorrect assertion that the NHS didn't carry out abortions after 16 weeks; the claim that charity Marie Stopes International supported her policy views; an attempt to dismiss scientific studies that disagreed with her view as "an "insult to the intelligence of the public"; and some rather dubious interpretations of opinion polls that led a frustrated Dawn Primarolo to exclaim that "The Honorable Lady has asserted many things to be facts that are not." [Martin Robbins writing in The Guardian.]

...the Health Select Committee probably isn't the most appropriate place for an MP who simply does not understand what constitutes evidence, particularly when it comes to the contentious issue of abortion. [Teek]

Doctors Know Best

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have spoken. And this is what they have said:

There is no new evidence to show foetuses feel pain in the womb before 24 weeks, and so no reason to challenge the abortion limit, UK doctors say.

That's got to sting a bit if you're campaigning for a reduction of the abortion limit.

Mind you, they still haven't commented on the abilities of foetuses to tear their way out of the womb. We'll need to wait longer for that report.

Paying Your Friends

It becomes more and more obvious why Nadine Dorries was so spooked by the Telegraph's investigation into MPs' expenses. She seems to be pathologically incapable of spending expense money honestly.

Today the Telegraph has another story about dodgy expense claims and, once again, it's about everyone's favourite comedy MP. Dorries has been spending a lot (you might say a ridiculous amount) of money on marketing and research done by a company owned by her close friend Lynn Elson.

New figures released by the Parliamentary authorities yesterday showed Mrs Dorries claimed £17,825 to pay Mrs Elson’s marketing company between July and December last year.

The MP for Mid-Bedfordshire also paid £34,000 to her friend between September 2008 and June last year – making a total of more than £51,000 in 15 months.

Mrs Elson has previously featured in photos on Dorries' blog that were obviously taken on social occasions. The pictures were removed following an earlier report in the Telegraph about Dorries and Elson's business relationship. This story was about almost £10,000 that Dorries spend on Elson's services in 2007. This emerged after this year's general election but before the coalition government had been formed.

Investigation of Dorries' expenses by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards continues. However it can't be completed until the new Parliament's Standards and Privileges Committee has been appointed.

The report is going to make fascinating reading.

Nadine Dorries is unfit to Chair the Health Select Committee

Nadine Dorries wants to be Chair of the Health Select Committee. She is entirely unfit for the position. End of.

Hopefully sanity will prevail in today's vote, but some serious questions need to be put to the MPs who nominated Dorries for this position. An incomplete list appears below.

Members nominated for election as Select Committee Chairs (PDF)

Candidate: Nadine Dorries

Nominated by (own party): Andrew Rosindell, Heather Wheeler, Andrea Leadsom, Mr Robert Buckland, Sarah Newton, Mr James Clappison, Richard Harrington, Mr David Davis, Esther McVey, Mr Brian Binley, Mrs Anne Main, Robert Halfon, Mr Peter Lilley, Penny Mordaunt, Pauline Latham

Nominated by (other parties): Vernon Coaker, Rosie Cooper, Ian Swales, Graham Stringer

Relevant interests declared: None

Note: Only the first fifteen names of a candidate’s own party validly submitted in support of a candidature are printed, except in the case of committees with chairs allocated to the Liberal Democrats, when only the first six such names are printed.

Graham Stringer is worthy of special attention. He more than anyone visible on this list should be aware of Dorries' attendance record on the Science and Technology Committee. They were both members during the most recent session and he attended many of the meetings when she attended none. Surely he must have noticed her repeated absence, even if he didn't get around to reading the final minutes.

Liar

I can't add anything new to what's happened recently, so this post is more of a round up, an update. If you like, a 'for the record' post. Which, I suppose, is what this blog is mainly about.

So what's new then, huh?

On 23 May this year the paper Bedfordshire on Sunday ran an article about Nadine Dorries and her reasons for why she closed her blog and Twitter account.

Here it is...


There is nothing really new in the story that hasn't been covered elsewhere, including the Flitwick er, episode. What is more interesting is what was left out of the article.

Keeley Knowles, the writer of the piece, gave Tim the right of reply by telling him what Nadine had said about him.

The one piece of Nadines' statement that didn't make the page was this bit...

Following the Stephen Timms incident last week I have decided that I should pay attention to the police advice and have therefore closed down both Twitter and my blog for the time being.

For over a year Nadine has been, apparently, been receiving advice on how to deal with a stalker. (You would've thought that if someone was stalking, harassing or threatening in anyway towards an MP, the police would take it seriously and at the very least warn the accused. Tim has had no such encounter with the police and has been talking to them himself...



The advice the police supposedly gave to Nadine was to not give the 'stalker' the oxygen of for his 'obsession' and close her blog and Twitter account. Nadine being a feisty woman who refuses to let people dictate what she can and can't do kept going with her online endeavours. Until, that is, Labour MP Stephen Timms got stabbed.

Apparently.

This is where that line omitted from the paper comes in. Never mind all that it implies, that Tim is a violent person, and all that comes with it, but it is a factual lie.

For Nadine to have closed her blog and Twitter account because of fearing what happened to Stephen Timms could happen to her, those online presences' would have to have been up and running until the 14th May, the day Stephen Timms got stabbed.

Thanks to Chris Paul, we have this little bit of information...

Nadine closed her Twitter account May 7th. The day after the general election. A full week before the attack on Stephen Timms. Her blog went on the same day.

Not only does Nadine smear and defame someone that is critical of her behaviour, she is quite happy to use an attempted murder on someone to do it.

Links:
Bloggerheads - To: Nadine Dorries
Labour of Love (Chris Paul) - Nadine Dorries Mum-P: Liar! Liar! Your Pants Are On Fire
Bartholomews' Notes on Religion - Nadine Dorries Explains Why She Deleted Blog: Cites “Police Advice” over On-Line Critic

Smears, lies and videotape

Tim Ireland went to a constituency hustings in Flitwick on Tuesday, to record and broadcast live Nadine Dorries in action with her constiuents. To observe, not participate.

It didn’t quite go to plan, due to a couple of misunderstandings. The Chair didn't know the meaning between 'record' and 'broadcast' and due to wearing headphones mis-heard a couple of questions which took the proceedings down a different route than anticipated.

Leaving those misunderstandings to one side, the amount of vitriol spewed by Dorries in the form of lies and smears is incredible. All of which she is unable to substantiate

Dorries smears Tim as a stalker, claiming he is stalking herself, Patrick Mercer and Anne Milton. If noticing something isn't right with what an elected representative is doing and looking into it until satisfactory answers are given is 'stalking', then maybe he is, but not in the minds of most reasonable people.

Dorries also claims that Tim runs a rude and offensive website. There may be an odd rude word, but offensive it ain't. Tim doesn't needlessly insult people or question their mental state, jokingly or otherwise. People may not like or agree with what Tim posts but if there is one thing Bloggerheads isn't, it's offensive.

Another one of Dorries' claims is that Tim sends offensive daily emails which have been reported to the police, but Tim denies this, has not had a call from the police regarding any emails and Dorries, after being challenged to many times, has failed to even provide a crime number.

So. To the video...



In case anyone might think that the video has been cut and edited by Tim to give a certain slant to the evenings events, here are two independent eyewitness accounts:

Adam Croft

Tim Ireland was in front of me in the queue to sign in. As he took a good few minutes to ask the organisers' permission to film and broadcast the event, therefore holding me up in the queue, I can certainly vouch for the fact that he made it clear to the organisers that the event was being broadcast live on his website and the organisers gave him permission to do this.
...
Despite Tim ceasing recording, Nadine Dorries stormed out of the hustings and declared that she had to go to another meeting. It baffled me that she could possibly have a meeting more important than a public hustings in her constituency's largest town less than 36 hours before a general election.

Nadine was then seen stood outside smoking for fifteen minutes, complaining to her daughter and staff. She later denied this on Twitter and claimed that she had been followed out by a number of 'social democratic' constituents who supported and defended her. This was discovered to be a lie by @humphreycushion who was stood next to Nadine at the time.

Mr Plug...

...we were subjected to you…our democratically elected representative for the last five years, shouting and screaming at your constituents. I came along last night in an effort to see all sides of the argument. I heard representatives of the UKIP and English democrats argue their peculiar brand of right wing dogma, with at least a hint of belief and conviction, and whilst every cell in my body is programmed to detest their extreme views, they conducted themselves with at least a bit of dignity. You however, behaved like a spoiled brat.
...
I have corresponded with you on a number of matters in the last couple of years, and whilst I do not support you as a candidate I have always communicated with you in a civil and polite manner. You have blocked me on Twitter for asking civil and polite questions. You have blocked all comments from your blog. You have chosen to wait for weeks on end to answer genuine concerns of your constituents, and then responded with standard letters, but somehow managed to find the time to appear on reality TV programmes. You accuse the other candidates of making the campaign personal, yet you were the one to question the service record of the labour candidate first.

I shall now finish this post, with Nadines' Twitterings that a) insinuate mental health problems and b) are just plain wrong - ChrisPLOL* was, so I am told, not even there.

*Nadine spelt Chris' moniker incorrectly, too.