Draper quits blog after smear row
Derek Draper has quit as editor of the LabourList blog in the wake of
the row over e-mails smearing senior Tories sent to him.
Damian McBride left his job as a No 10 adviser after sending e-mails to
Mr Draper containing unfounded allegations about senior Conservative
figures.
Mr Draper said he "regretted" the episode and the fact he had not
condemned the e-mails straight away.
Many Labour MPs have urged the party to sever all links with Mr Draper.
'Regret'
Mr Draper said he intended to quit as editor of the independent
LabourList site which he founded, saying the continued outcry over the
McBride affair was a proving a distraction.
"What has become clear is that my continued editorship can only detract
from what LabourList needs to do now," he said.
“ I should have said straight away that the idea was wrong ”
Derek Draper
Reflecting on the episode which led to Mr McBride's departure and
increased pressure on Gordon Brown, he added.
"Of course I regret ever receiving the infamous e-mail and I regret my
stupid, hasty reply."
"Instead I should have said straight away that the idea was wrong."
Mr Draper said "a silly idea ultimately destined for the trash can
became a national scandal" because someone else had hacked into his
emails and made the message from Mr McBride public.
The LabourList website says it "aims to provide a platform for debate
for every level of our movement, and for those who disagree with us".
It was set up in 2008 by Mr Draper who is a former Labour spin doctor.
He worked as an aide to Lord Mandelson in 1990s, but was fired in 1998
after a "cash for access" scandal which saw him boasting to an
undercover reporter, posing as a businessman, about how "intimate" he
was with key figures in Whitehall.
After leaving politics, he retrained as a psychotherapist and married
the GMTV presenter Kate Garraway.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2009/05/06 23:00:58 GMT
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