Bartholomew's Notes

Tim Ireland writes:

On 8 April I tracked Douglas Morpeth’s receipt of my email making him aware of this article. He made no effort to communicate any response to me, but less than 24 hours later, I was smeared as a paedophile again (i.e. in the first attack of its kind since the 2009 event). This time the author decided to incorporate my volunteering with local children into this damaging and dangerous lie.

The article refered to (same link) is a recent blog post by Tim in which he discussed Morpeth’s associations with Dominic Wightman; Morpeth (who is a well-connected semi-public figure with a knighthood) used to be listed as the “Patron” of Wightman’s Westminster Journal website, and the two men are or have been involved with activism on behalf of the local Conservative Party in Shamley Green, Surrey. Wightman, it may be remembered, used to run a private “terror-tracking” organisation called the “VIGIL Network”, which purported to infiltrate on-line and real-world extremist groups; the group has since been disbanded, and it has subsequently become apparent that Wightman is extremely dishonest on a whole range of matters.

It is not here claimed that Morpeth has had any involvement with the new smears or with any other underhand action against Tim, but we know with certainty that Wightman has subjected Tim to a sporadic campaign of on-line abuse and harassment since autumn 2009 (I’ve also been targeted from time to time). Morpeth has had this matter brought to his attention, but he either refuses to believe the evidence or considers it none of his concern. This is despite the fact that Wightman claims that he has support of his local MP, Anne Milton, who he claims wants “Ireland downed”, and despite the fact that the website of which he used to be Patron hosts distasteful and spitefully abusive falsehoods (and in May 2011 a threat to run Tim and me over). And now, despite the fact that new attacks against Tim, of the foulest and most dishonourable kind, have appeared shortly after Morpeth has been contacted by Tim.

Paedophile smears were previously used against Tim in 2009, in the form of fake newspaper articles placed on websites about Thailand; this was during the period during which Tim was trying to get the media to take notice that the Sun‘s “Terror Target Sugar” story about a supposed Muslim plot to harass British Jews had been concocted by Glen Jenvey, who made postings to an on-line forum under a fake name which he then “exposed” (Jenvey was also formerly associated with VIGIL).

A paedophile smear was also used by two Conservative activists associated with Anne Milton in 2005, against a local opposition candidate. Tim identified the culprits, and just last year Jonathan Lord MP, at that time Chairman of the Guildford Conservative Association and responsible for dealing with complaints, admitted that Tim had been correct. However, the two activists were at that time standing in council elections, and Lord merely told them in private to “cut it out”, rather than expel them for grossly unethical conduct (a decision that, it seems to me, amounts to dereliction of duty).

Tim now adds:

Conservative MPs Anne Milton and Jonathan Lord still refuse to attempt to draw this matter to a close by taking a public stand against this kind of conduct. Jeremy Hunt, my local MP, and also a Conservative, refuses to even discuss the possibility of conducting any diplomacy or casework that might draw this matter to a close.

Meanwhile, I can add that the new smear against Tim appeared twenty minutes after an abusive and taunting comment was posted to this blog, under a relevant post here. As ever, the comment was left by someone too cowardly to leave his or her real name. Instead, they signed themselves with the title of a Marilyn Manson song (“Doll Dagga Buzz Buzz Ziggety Zag”). I’ve since removed it.

Wightman also has links with Patrick Mercer MP: after VIGIL collapsed, Mercer was contacted by a former employee about Wightman’s dishonesty. This employee had won an industrial tribunal against Wightman, but Mercer dismissed her out of hand:

Dominic and Vigil have been extremely helpful to me from my task as Shadow Minister for Security. They have provided me with a number of very useful leads and between us we have managed to put pressure upon the nation’s enemies and secured a number of arrests. I shall certainly continue to use any guidance that Vigil gives me.

This clueless and self-serving response in the face of evidence is one other reason why Wightman’s subsequent behaviour is of wider public interest.

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