Lib Dem Leadership Contest

RT

rts Founding member 21 January 2006 7:20pm

Sky are reporting that Mark Oaten, who withdrew from the Lib Dem leadership race earilier this week, has resigned his post within the Liberal Democrats, over allegations made by the News Of The World that he had a lengthy relationship with a rent boy.

JU

juice 21 January 2006 7:25pm

Wasn't he 23 or something when that supposedly happened??

Why is it MP's suffer for things that happened years and years ago, when the tabloids have nothing better to do than dig up people's pasts?!?

RT

rts Founding member 21 January 2006 7:29pm

A NOTW spokesman on Sky says that the relationship happened from 2004 into 2005.

WI

william Founding member 21 January 2006 7:37pm

This does seem to rather have taken everyone by surprise... no mention of it before now on any of the main political blogs etc.

Enough scope with this and the whale story for BBC1 to do an old-fashioned News Report in a couple of minutes...

NE

News24 21 January 2006 7:39pm

News 24 also broke the story at the same time as Sky.

Very surprising news - but a reflection of the fact that no-one can have any secrets in the political world. No doubt the rent boy in question made a decent profit selling his story to the NOTW

RT

rts Founding member 21 January 2006 7:42pm

Oaten pulled out of the leadership race because although he said he had support from party members, he did not have the support of colleagues at Westminster. Maybe they just knew...

RO

roxuk 21 January 2006 7:58pm

Skys Martin Poppewel said something strange along the lines of "He wasnt the first name i associated with the story.but we wont comment on that" ...

FU

fusionlad Founding member 21 January 2006 7:59pm

News24 posted:

News 24 also broke the story at the same time as Sky.

I'm not one to pick holes, but are you sure about that? News 24 seemed at least a couple of minutes behind. Sky also had reaction much quicker than News 24.

BC

Blake Connolly Founding member 21 January 2006 8:02pm

fusionlad posted:

News24 posted:

News 24 also broke the story at the same time as Sky.

I'm not one to pick holes, but are you sure about that? News 24 seemed at least a couple of minutes behind. Sky also had reaction much quicker than News 24.

From what I saw, News 24 were a few mins behind. Sky were helped by the fact they had someone on the phone from the NotW almost straight away.

TV

TVN 21 January 2006 8:08pm

roxuk posted:

Skys Martin Poppewel said something strange along the lines of "He wasnt the first name i associated with the story.but we wont comment on that" ...

Perhaps he is covering for somebody else.

This is quite disgusting though, he is both a father and a sodomite (without even mentioning the fact that it was with a hooker!!). Quite disgusting!!!

TV

tvmercia Founding member 21 January 2006 8:21pm

TVN posted:

Perhaps he is covering for somebody else.

This is quite disgusting though, he is both a father and a sodomite (without even mentioning the fact that it was with a hooker!!). Quite disgusting!!!

whatever next, they'll be letting sodomites adopt children and even sodomites marry sodomites.

FU

fusionlad Founding member 21 January 2006 10:15pm

TVN posted:

This is quite disgusting though, he is both a father and a sodomite (without even mentioning the fact that it was with a hooker!!). Quite disgusting!!!

And you were so disgusted, you told us twice. Fancy being married, gay and having kids eh?

(January 2006)