even by Crispin's standards...

[SigourneyHoward]

Extremely vocal intervention by CB following a jury finding his fellow Conservative Wakefield MP guilty of sexual assault....

twitter.com/CrispinBlunt/status/1513603624164859918

I am sorry that my defence of him has been a cause of significant upset and concern not least to victims of sexual offences

I am reading that he is still defending his friend

With ghastly literalism, Khan actually was 'parachuted into his seat' www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/tory-candidate-literally-parachuted-wakefield-counter-opponents-claims-1318882 (and the previous Tory candidate had stepped down after sneering at working class voters).

Blunt is quite simply unconscionable. Vile.

Finally he has had to pay a price for his vile behaviour. He really showed the world how he thinks.

Just on the news roundup he's retracted and 'apologised for the upset it caused'.

Followed by rape prosecutions falling despite rape reports being at an all time high.

@PronounssheRa

twitter.com/CrispinBlunt/status/1513794463231057922?cxt=HHwWhIC5veeCioIqAAAA

Blunt retracting his statement

Again, he's turned off replies so people cannot respond to his tweet.

But again, many people are quote tweeting:

twitter.com/CrispinBlunt/status/1513794463231057922/retweets/with_comments

I think it's the particular case that's the problem here, not the principle. But feel free to contradict me.

I won't Necessaryscene! It's this particular case.

@Organictangerine

I don’t believe you can go from supporting a convicted child sex offender with the voracity he did, to ‘seeing the light’ in a matter of hours.

I'm sure he found it surprisingly easy once threatened with removal of whip

What he needs to say is that he's sorry for that appalling statement, not 'sorry for the upset it caused'

@LK1972

What he needs to say is that he's sorry for that appalling statement, not 'sorry for the upset it caused'

Yes, although a specific apology for the additional upset it must have caused to the victim (? Other victims?) would be appropriate.

Glad he's exposed himself. His attitude to this crime is completely unsurprising, but the arrogance and stupidity of actually saying it out loud is an unexpected gift. I'd rather have all such men in positions of power be loud and clear about who they are.

Is that apology really going to be enough? He should still have the whip withdrawn and be pressured to resign as an MP. Won't the Tories want to distance themselves further?

And in a Parliamentary debate, he once claimed homosexuality is 'not equivalent to heterosexuality'.
To cries of 'shame' from Labour MPs, Mr Blunt, 50, said: 'It is also clear that there is a much greater strand of homosexuality than of heterosexuality which depends for its gratification on the exploitation of youth.'

This from an article when he came out. In the debate mentioned (which was prior to this) people thought he was being homophobic but maybe that’s actually his view and it’s one he finds acceptable?

I get a sense of middle aged men unravelling. Jamie Willis, Crispin Blunt, and one in the West Country whose name I can't remember. To keep it all-party, we also had people like Keith Vaz. And one step further, the men described on the trans-widows thread who forget about the needs of their families and go out and spend a fortune on nice frocks.

What happened to the traditional sports car and mistress? (Though to be fair, I know one or two of them as well.)

@Needmoresleep

I get a sense of middle aged men unravelling. Jamie Willis, Crispin Blunt, and one in the West Country whose name I can't remember. To keep it all-party, we also had people like Keith Vaz. And one step further, the men described on the trans-widows thread who forget about the needs of their families and go out and spend a fortune on nice frocks.

What happened to the traditional sports car and mistress? (Though to be fair, I know one or two of them as well.)

When their sexuality/gender identity is so valorised it makes them feel superior and immune to normal discourse and boundaries. The progressive way to unravel.

Malcom Clark:

twitter.com/TwisterFilm/status/1513650941244940288

twitter.com/TwisterFilm/status/1513803997752217601

When their sexuality/gender identity is so valorised it makes them feel superior and immune to normal discourse and boundaries. The progressive way to unravel.

Aye, the "high-status oppressed minority" has a magnetic appeal to a certain personality type.

A gay man has an easy in to this modern LGBTQ+ one (although they have to be increasingly careful about being openly homosexual), but anyone can join in.

There seems to a common theme among gay male Tory MPs, they do not ever do anything for for gay rights until there is an opportunity to pink wash their reputations.

Haha, quick work by someone has this last paragraph in 'Early life and career' section of his Wikipedia page:
"Blunt thinks it is wrong that a Court of Law can find a fellow MP guilty of a sexual offence act and therefore believes that all victims of sexual offences are fair game."

It probably won't last, but kudos for getting it in

As in not 'haha' it's funny he thinks that, is that 'the truth is getting through even on Wiki, where the editors seem rather captured, at least in regards to women' rights'. But I guess if anyone involved was a woman CB would cry transphobia and probably wouldn't have had to apologise.

His pompous statement about justice and truth had echoes of Jonathan Aitken's 'sword of truth' speech when he tried to stop Granada broadcasting a programme about his dodgy dealings with Arab businessmen:

"If it falls to me to start a fight to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in our country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play, so be it. I am ready for the fight. The fight against falsehood and those who peddle it. My fight begins today. Thank you and good afternoon."

He got time for perjury and perverting the course of justice and Granada mocked the 'sword of honour' in a programme with the title "Dagger of Deceit".

Speaking of party vetting and the conduct of dodgy MPs, does anyone remember Keith Vaz? He had a long list of scandals, alleged dodgy dealings and investigations, ranging from money and corruption to sex and drugs.
Yet he was appointed to the Justice Select Committee just two months after he'd resigned from the Home Affairs Select Committee because of the lurid sex and drug scandal - a Commons motion to stop the appointment failed because enough of his fellow MPs voted against it. And shortly after that he joined a Bill Committee on a bill to do with corruption and money laundering.

@Abitofalark

His pompous statement about justice and truth had echoes of Jonathan Aitken's 'sword of truth' speech when he tried to stop Granada broadcasting a programme about his dodgy dealings with Arab businessmen:

"If it falls to me to start a fight to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in our country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play, so be it. I am ready for the fight. The fight against falsehood and those who peddle it. My fight begins today. Thank you and good afternoon."

He got time for perjury and perverting the course of justice and Granada mocked the 'sword of honour' in a programme with the title "Dagger of Deceit".

I remember Keith Vaz though I didn’t know that about the committees. I do remember he pretended to be a washing machine salesman. Why can I remember that but not my MN login?!

That's a bit below the belt, lark. I'm sure we've all mistakenly posed as washing machine salesmen named Jim, and offered to buy Class As for men we might pay to have sex with. Right?!

Lisa Townsend has tweeted:

Thank you to everyone who has been in touch in the last 24hrs. As Surrey PCC and chair of the Surrey Criminal Justice Board I know how difficult it is to secure a conviction for sexual crimes, and share the deep concerns about recent comments that have sought to undermine 1/3

yesterday’s jury decision in a case that will have taken enormous bravery from the victim. As Surrey’s victims’ champion I want to make clear that the comments issued by a Surrey MP yesterday in no way reflect the views of my Party, or my colleagues 2/3

It is vital that victims and survivors of sexual crimes in Surrey know that my office and I will always strive to ensure they are supported and treated with respect, and that I do not consider any crime against a young person as ‘minor’. 3/3

twitter.com/_lisa_townsend/status/1513828555968364547?s=21&t=fyjuQ0ljGXj-oRBcR_ZbgQ

Well said Lisa!

@Notcreativeatall

Thats awful- Is there any more detail about why he thinks its acceptable? i know he tends to think being gay is a card you can play to make anything acceptable. He's actually my mp so i may write to him.

I suspect he is aware that nobody really gives a shit when women are sexually assaulted, and is surprised that teenage boys are not seen as equally disposable.

If this had been a fifteen year old girl, it probably would not have caused much outrage (or got anywhere near a court) - she probably led him on, shouldn’t have been alone with him, “looked older”, etc.