Labour party member's shock as MP dismisses his plea to vote against Syria air strikes as 'a load of b*****ks'

Row: Graham Jones MP
Rex
Rachel Blundy8 December 2015
WEST END FINAL

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A London Labour party member who lobbied MPs to vote against air strikes in Syria has told of his shock after one dismissed his argument as "a load of b*****ks".

Dr Samuel Grove has made a formal complaint to the party after Graham Jones, Labour MP for Hyndburn, made the remark in an email.

It came in response to Dr Grove's suggestion Mr Jones should not back David Cameron's plans for extending military action into Syria.

The 35-year-old fitness instructor, who lives in East Finchley, emailed a string of MPs over the controversial vote last week, which saw members divide 397 to 223 in favour of military intervention.

His letter read: "It is not every day that you as MPs are asked whether to push the 'kill' button.

'Shocked': Labour party member Samuel Grove

"If the house defeats the motion to bomb Syria, families will be spared the death of their loved ones.

"If the motion is passed they will not and the house will have the death of tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of people on their hands.

"You will also be endangering the Britons you claim to represent as this will increase the risk of terror attacks in this country.

"Isis is the child of the Iraq war. More war is only going to make them more powerful."

Dr Grove said he received a number of "polite" responses to his message from MPs who laid out their reasons for supporting the war.

But Mr Jones responded: “What a load of bollocks. Please take the issue seriously and whilst you are at it, learn some respect (if that’s possible?)”

Dr Grove, who said he had recently joined the Labour party when Jeremy Corbyn was appointed leader, said: "My immediate reaction was shock. [His response] was quite aggressive - he did not care about what people might think.

"It made me question what I had written. But I had about 10 polite responses. So I do not know why he reacted like that."

He continued: "I was disillusioned for quite a while but I was inspired when Corbyn became leader. This just makes me disillusioned again."

When approached for comment, Mr Jones referred the Standard to an 18th century definition of b*****ks, saying; "B*****ks is an 18th century word found in Oxford English Dictionary to describe nonsense.

Rude: the e-mail exchange which Dr Grove shared on Facebook

"Commonly used by ordinary people exasperated by the ridiculousness or stupidity of an argument."

The Labour Party declined to comment on the row.

A total of 67 Labour MPs backed air strikes in the high-profile vote last Wednesday. Some politicians, including Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, complained they had been hounded by anti-war protesters over their choice.

The RAF has since begun targeting what it claims are Islamic State strongholds in Syria.

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