Nadine Dorries – Three In A Row?

[Update at end of post]

The Sunday Mirror has managed for the past two weeks to feature a story involving Tory MP for Mid Bedfordshire (yes, it’s her again) Nadine Dorries, and rumours are circulating that political editor Vincent Moss and reporter Ben Glaze may be in possession of sufficient ammunition to make it three in a row. This suggests that attempts to shut them up have been unsuccessful.

Now, it is not done here on Zelo Street to spoil the fun and pre-empt the nice surprise that may be in store for the fragrant Nadine, but there are hints that can be deployed without giving the game away. The paper has majored on two subjects thus far: that Ms Dorries shares a business partner with a Romanian “mobile hairdresser” called Ramona Ladin, and aspects of her behaviour as an MP.

My understanding is that any new article, or articles, will follow from those already published. So what might we see? Well, in the case of Ms Dorries’ parliamentary activities, I understand that she will be providing information, and explaining herself, to the Parliamentary Standards Committee (PSC) early next week. However, and here there is inevitably a however, they will have more to consider.

For starters, a number of complaints have been made about the fragrant Nadine since her apology to the House of Commons recently. Zelo Street knows of more than one: I cannot elaborate at present. The PSC may also wish to quiz her following remarks suggesting, yet again, that she has not really done anything wrong and the apology was just because she was “being bolshie” with them.

But the most fertile ground for further revelation concerns the activities of Ramona Ladin and any possible connection between her, her business partner Andrew Rayment, and the MP. Let me put it directly: the kind of activity discussed in Vincent Moss’ first article – guardedly calling Ms Ladin an “internet glamour model” – is meat and drink to the Sunday red-tops.

So if there is a back story, papers like the Sunday Mirror will pick up on it. And Ms Ladin has been in the UK since 2007, at a time when Romania might have acceded to the EU, but when its nationals could not just rock up in other member states seeking work without it first being offered. My information is that she has worked somewhere that has previously featured in the Sunday tabloids.

And whatever comes out, it is bound to feature Ms Dorries’ name, because of that common business partner. Will the threats work? No they won’t, except to make the Sunday Mirror yet more determined to use the MP to shift more copies. She has suggested that she will take the whole weekend off Twitter. If only she had done the same thing a few more times recently.

Yes, it’s looking good for three consecutive Dorries appearances in the Mirror.

[UPDATE 1 December 1140 hours: and so it came to pass that Nadine Dorries did indeed appear in the Sunday Mirror for a third consecutive week. Vincent Moss has homed in on her Parliamentary behaviour, in the shape of her declaring her media earnings: this is part of the information she is providing to the PSC, as I noted earlier.

Those earnings last year totalled almost £130,000, or around twice her MP's salary. That's a significant sum of money, and why it has not previously come to light would be interesting to know (some mention of her fee for I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here is also made). Sadly, there is nothing new on the matter of her business partner and the Romanian "mobile hairdresser", but give it time.

After all, there's always next Sunday. I'm sure Ms Dorries is already looking forward to it]