Would-be Croydon Labour MP Threatens Colleague Over Ex-wife Claims

Chilling: Leaked emails reveal a libel dispute in the Croydon Labour group

He’s been billed by the Labour party as the candidate who can ‘put the fear of God into people’, and by the looks of these leaked emails, Waddon candidate Andrew Pelling is living up to his reputation.

So when lifelong Labour supporter Anthony Miller wrote a piece on an incident involving the former Tory’s ex-wife, he soon found himself locked in a libel dispute in a string of chilling emails leaked to The Croydon Gazette.   

The emails, which were sent by Steven Downes, editor of the Inside Croydon blog, of which Pelling is special correspondent, warn Mr Miller that he will now have to live with the consequences of his actions. Pelling, now a high profile Labour Parliamentary candidate is clearly copied into the correspondence but does not respond to the mail chain.

The emails expose the bizarre and powerful influence Mr Pelling has over Mr Downes, a former journalist turned blogger, who is not thought to possess any formal legal qualifications.

The revelations follow a string of disclosures in the Croydon local press that the Labour group is ‘in turmoil’ and tearing itself apart. 

Mr Miller refused to comment on the emails when approached by the Croydon Gazette. 

Croydon Labour Leader in a Fluster Over Links to Inside Croydon Attack-Blog

Listen: Labour Party Leader questioned over links to Inside Croydon on Croydon Radio

 

Croydon Labour leader Tony Newman was left lost for words over his party’s relationship with notorious attack blog Inside Croydon during a live interview on Croydon Radio’s In the Loop show. The controversial site has made regular personal attacks on Conservative members, including false allegations about Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell, publishing wedding photographs of and repeatedly attacking Croydon’s youngest female Councillor and raising questions over the passport status of a Tory Indian Councillor.

The Inside Croydon site is run by Steven Downes and Labour candidate Andrew Pelling, who was arrested by Police over allegations of assaulting his pregnant wife in 2007. Despite warnings from his Labour colleagues, Labour leader Tony Newman welcomed his friend Mr Pelling into the Labour Party, hailing him as the candidate who can “Put the Fear of God” into people. The unfortunate choice of wording caused much amusement in Conservative circles and stoked fears in the Labour group that Tony Newman had become ‘star struck’ by privately educated Mr Pelling, well-known for his posh accent, charm and ruthless political skills.

Within days of Tony Newman announcing Andrew Pelling as the face of the Croydon Labour campaign for 2014, his ward colleague and campaigner against domestic violence Karen Jewitt was sacked.

A local Tory told the Croydon Gazette, “Tony Newman will never condemn the personal attacks made by his mates at Inside Croydon.  We have already seen the damage this blog has done to our online community and our town’s reputation, just imagine what they could do if they were unleashed in the town hall.”

Listen to In the Loop, hosted by Bieneosa Ebite on Croydon Radio Podcast

Inside Croydon's Steven Downes in Race Row Over Tweets at Indian-born Cllr

War of the Tweets - Steven Downes, Editor of Inside Croydon and Vidhi Mohan, Conservative Councillor - with images of the tweets

A senior Croydon Conservative Councillor has hit out at a string of offensive tweets posted by the leading Labour-supporting blog Inside Croydon. Indian-born Vidhi Mohan, a respected family man, was said to be horrified at the comments, which included references to his passport status and suggested that his party ´could not find a BME member with a passport.´ [BME stands for black and minority ethnic].

The Inside Croydon site is edited by Steven Downes who hit the headlines after publishing untrue allegations about Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell. The site´s Special Correspondent is Andrew Pelling, recently unveiled as the leading Labour candidate in Waddon, following stints as an Independent and a Tory for over a decade. In a recent interview with the Croydon Guardian, Andrew Pelling said, “We'll run a positive campaign.”

Vidhi Mohan said to Steven Downes, “How did my not having a UK passport in 2005 affect my ability to serve Fairfield residents? Racist and offensive blog!”

Steven Downes denied that the tweets were racist, he tweeted, "How is identifying you as not holding a UK passport when seeking election in Croydon racist?"