Isle of Wight MP, Robert Seely, has come under fire from an Isle of Wight domestic abuse charity accusing him of a “shocking dismissal of domestic abuse”.
Police called to altercation
A report by Jim Waterson at The Guardian on Friday night revealed that police had been called to Johnson and Symonds’ flat in Camberwell, after neighbours were concerned for Symonds’ safety following a loud altercation which ended in silence after a loud scream. The incident sparked much comment with some supportive of Johnson and others opposing what happened.
Police attended the incident and left without taking any action, telling The Guardian,
“Police attended and spoke to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well. There were no offences or concerns apparent to the officers and there was no cause for police action.”
Wight-DASH: “Shocking dismissal of domestic abuse”
However, it was Bob Seely’s tweet about Saturday’s follow-up Guardian article that attracted responses from Isle of Wight residents. The Guardian excerpt which he offered his re-write of read:
Leadership campaign falters as he refuses to respond to questions at hustings about late-night argument with Carrie Symonds
He tweeted the Guardian article, adding:
Let me rewrite that sub-header for you @BorisJohnson campaign does not falter despite feeble hatchet-job attempt
At time of publishing, the tweet had 329 retweets and 1,161 likes, but some Islanders were not impressed with his words.
Wight-DASH: “Reflects an ugly misogyny in our MP”
Wight-DASH, the Isle of Wight organisation that supports women affected by domestic abuse, childhood trauma, poor mental health and other challenges, replied:
MP not responded as yet
Although he has tweeted since, Mr Seely has not replied to any of the tweets on this thread.
OnTheWight has contacted Bob Seely, but have yet to hear back.
Fiona Gwinnett, CEO of Wight-DASH told OnTheWight they’d not had a response from Mr Seely.
Wight-DASH comment on police statement
Speaking to OnTheWight about the police statement, Fiona said,
“That kind of language is usually indicative that nobody was prepared to make a complaint. That’s not the same as saying nothing has happened.”
Lowthion: “Appalling dismissal of public concerns”
Isle of Wight Green Party prospective parliamentary candidate, Vix Lowthion, replied
Labour: Support police campaign
On behalf of Island Labour, Julian Critchley sent the following to OnTheWight,
“The Isle of Wight Labour Party supports our police in encouraging those who believe that a domestic violence incident is underway to report their concerns to the police. No matter who it is.
“Those who discourage such action are placing people at risk.
“Don’t ignore it. Report it.”
Last week Mr Seely explained to OnTheWight why he’d switched his support from Michael Gove to Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership race.
Image: © With kind permission of Allan Marsh
