F4J Statement Ref Caroline Nokes MP 29/4/13
F4J STATEMENT REF CAROLINE NOKES MP 29/4/13
Before the 2010 general election, Caroline Nokes, the Conservative candidate for Romsey and Southampton North, made a series of personal commitments to reform family law. Those commitments were made to Fathers4Justice in a joint statement here: http://romsey.conservativesintouch.com/news/216/
The public announcement was made here: Daily Echo
Caroline Nokes was subsequently elected as MP in Romsey and Southampton North with the support of Fathers4Justice. At the time Campaign Director Nadine O’Connor stated, ‘We will remain ever vigilant to ensure that the Conservative Party act with the fierce urgency of now in making this happen if they are elected.’
Once elected as part of the new coalition government, the Conservative Party reneged on these promises. Caroline Nokes though assured us she continued to support both the commitments and Fathers4Justice. However, just weeks after being elected she was caught in a hotel room with a Tory councillor and was subsequently divorced from her husband. The story received wide coverage:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cameron-cutie-caroline-nokes-cheats-228313
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286264/Cameron-Cutie-MP-Caroline-Nokess-4-year-affair-toyboy.html
We believe her subsequent change in position may stem from this event and subsequent changes to her personal life.
In April 2013, when Caroline Nokes was sitting as an elected MP on the Children and Families Bill Committee, we were shocked and disappointed to discover that she no longer supported her pre-election commitments to Fathers4Justice.
As a result, Fathers4Justice has embarked on a campaign to highlight those broken promises made to the 36,000 children and families in Fathers4Justice. Instead of responding to our challenges in a professional and reasonable manner, Caroline Nokes has chosen to pursue the following course of action:
TWITTER
Caroline Nokes has complained to Twitter and attempted to shut down our Fathers4Justice account and one belonging to F4J founder Matt O’Connor. This is the email we received from Twitter on 26/4/13: Hello, We have received a complaint from @carolinenokes that your accounts, @OfficialF4J & @MattGOConnor, are in violation of the Twitter Rules (https://twitter.com/rules), specifically around our rules regarding harassment and abuse. You are free to continue operating your account so long as you discontinue this abusive behavior. Please be aware that continued abusive behavior may lead to your Tweets no longer being available in Search or to your account being permanently suspended. If you have any questions, please reply to this ticket. Thank you for your cooperation. Thanks, @SamuelFisher
We have responded by asking Twitter to provide examples where we have breached their rules and guidelines or cite examples of harassment. We believe no such examples exist and that this is a politically motivated attempt by Caroline Nokes to close down our Twitter feed which contains damaging content and allegations about her.
It is of great concern to us that Twitter is being influenced by political forces. It appears that whilst it is acceptable for a politician to lie, it is not acceptable for us to hold them to account on Twitter.
SPECIAL BRANCH
Caroline Nokes has called in Special Branch to advise her on how to deal with routine enquiries from families belonging to Fathers4Justice, including people who live in her constituency. As Caroline sat on the Children and Families Bill Committee, she not only had a responsibility to her constituents, but a duty of care to children and families nationally. It is quite extraordinary that Special Branch have been called in to deal with routine public enquiries.
In an email to F4J supporters, Claire Pearsall at the Office of Caroline Nokes said, ‘Further to meetings with Special Branch, we have been advised that we need a verifiable postal address in order for us to send you a copy of the response.’
HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS
We also understand that in addition to attempting to close his Twitter account, Caroline Nokes has made allegations to Hampshire Police citing that F4J founder Matt O’Connor has been pursuing a course of conduct against her which would constitute ‘harassment’. Whilst Mr O’Connor fully accepts that he has been attempting to hold an elected official to account over her broken promises, it is ridiculous in the extreme to assert that public debate about a public figure constitutes harassment.
OUR POSITION
We regard the actions of Caroline Nokes to be anti-democratic and disproportionate. As a public figure who was elected as an MP with the support of Fathers4Justice, she is fully accountable not only to her constituents, but to the families she made these promises to. It is our intention to hold Caroline Nokes to those commitments as we stated we would in 2010. We will not be intimidated or bullied by a public official abusing her position and authority in an attempt to shut down parts of the Fathers4Justice organisation.
We will also continue to press Caroline Nokes to disclose whether events in her private life have shaped her change in public position on the matter of equal parenting. To find our more about what Fathers4Justic stands for see here: https://www.fathers-4-justice.org/our-campaign/our-10-point-blueprint-for-family-law/
THE QUESTIONS CAROLINE NOKES SHOULD ANSWER
1. Explain why she has broken her pre-election promises to Fathers4Justice.
2. Disclose her complaints to Twitter and Hampshire Police about Fathers4Justice and F4J Founder Matt O’Connor.
3. Disclose whether her ex-husband has full, unrestricted access to their daughter/and or a shared parenting arrangement giving him equal access.
4. Disclose if she has engaged a paid PR freelancer or company to manipulate her online and Wikipedia profile and on matters relating to Fathers4Justice. (See manipulation of her Wikipedia profile here by ‘Donkeyrider69’ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caroline_Nokes&offset=&limit=500&action=history)
COMPLAIN TO CAROLINE NOKES MP
Complain to Caroline Nokes MP using the following links. Please keep all correspondence civil.
[email protected]
http://www.carolinenokes.com/contact.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Nokes
COMPLAIN TO TWITTER
Tweet your complaints to Twitter at the following @Twitter @Support
FOR MORE ABOUT FATHERS4JUSTICE VISIT
https://www.fathers-4-justice.org
READ MORE ABOUT THE CAROLINE NOKES STORY HERE:
http://fathers4justiceadvertising.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/the-ugly-face-of-politics/
http://father4justice.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/caroline-nokes-mp-the-ugly-face-of-politics/
http://father4justice.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/saddle-up-for-a-ride-with-caroline-nokes-mp/
