Nadine Dorries Twitter Meltdown

[Update at end of post]

As predicted here on Zelo Street on Saturday, the Sunday Mirror duly ran a second article yesterday on the activities of Mid Bedfordshire Tory MP (yes, it’s her again) Nadine Dorries. This time, a second reporter was involved, the focus had shifted from her business partner to the logistics of her constituency workload support operation, and once again she did not take the news well.

And, when the question over how someone who lives 89 miles away can be an effective secretary was posed, responding with threats of assault occasioning actual bodily harm may not have been the wisest cause of action. Nor was it a sensible ploy suggesting that one of her accusers was routinely drunk, in view of yesterday evening’s astonishing meltdown after a visit to the pub.

At 1731 hours, Ms Dorris Tweeted “Off now to the best pub in Bedfordshire with the best people. Night all”. If only she had left it at that: it’s rather early to be off to the Rub-A-Dub if you’re going to be there a while. Now, there is no suggestion that the fragrant Nadine became Elephant’s Trunk And Mozart while out, but after 2200 hours she was back on Twitter, and was not always making sense.

After earlier talking of “the woman whose ID your reporter stole in setting up a false web site” in response to Gemma Aldridge, she snapped at Nick Owens’ suggestion that this was a serious allegation and she should have proof with “I don’t have to prove it ... the Police are investigating”, at 2217 hours. Then, seven minutes later, she adds to an earlier accusation aimed at Owen of “YOU are scum”.

“I repeat, she had NEVER met me, still hadn’t did NOT tell your reporter we were ‘best friends’” ranted Ms Dorries. So this appears to be a reference to the Romana Ladin story – a week after the event. And, as the man said, there’s more: “Now I understand. You are just thick and ignorant. You CANNOT excuse what you did to that woman or her child” aimed again at Owen.

Then, just to make sure, came a truly bizarre one: “When I said I’d nail his balls to a floor, if what I think happened did, I meant a prison floor”. What meaning that is intended to convey I leave to others. In the meantime, in summing up, Ms Dorries has alleged that the matter has been passed to lawyers, that the Police are investigating, and that the Sunday Mirror is guilty of various deceptions.

But what the fragrant Nadine is missing is this: the paper now has two reporters on her case – and two storylines – and all that the physical threat achieved was to gift them an eye-catching headline. If any of her allegations do not prove true, as they are on record – pace Sally Bercow – she could be in serious trouble later on. The Mail’s version of the Romana Ladin story is still live. More may be to come.

And Unity at Ministry of Truth has news on her mobile phone claims. Well, well.

[UPDATE 26 November 1000 hours: news of the Dorries outbursts has now crossed the North Atlantic, and the New York Daily News has observed "What ever happened to diplomacy? An unhinged British lawmaker threatened to nail a reporter's genitals to the floor" (a reference to her "message" to Ben Glaze of the Sunday Mirror).

More significantly, Political Scrapbook has revealed that Ms Dorries had crossed the defamation line with the Sunday Mirror and its reporters. It told "She went on to make the defamatory claim that Ramona Ladin's profile on the adult dating site fling.com - for which Scrapbook can vouch authenticity - had been fabricated by journalists from the Sunday Mirror".

Let me spell that out for the fragrant Nadine and her cheerleaders: Ms Ladin's fling.com profile was extant before the Sunday Mirror knew of the story. So she now has some explaining to do]