I`m being harassed says Parker-Perry!

The question of who smeared Councillor Jonny Reynolds is becoming more intriguing by the hour. As we reported on 14 March, someone using the nom de guerre 'Sam Smith' has being sending e-mails to the website 'Tameside Eye' in order to smear Councillor Jonny Reynolds who is seeking to replace James Purnell as the MP for Stalybridge & Hyde.

In one e-mail to Tameside Eye, Sam Smith alleges that Councillor Reynolds (who worked in the constituency office of Purnell) continued to receive £500 pm from the taxpayer, in a secret deal to pay his mortgage, despite never attending the constituency office or doing any work for almost 12 months. He then adds that this can be checked by cross referencing his (Reynolds) start date at University with the MP`s staff payroll. Sam Smith then says: "You will not receive any reply to this e-mail address. Keep it secret and there is more to come."

Whoever Sam Smith is still remains something of a mystery. But as we pointed out previously, the computer used by Smith was located to the offices of Tameside Council. Likewise, it also appears that Councillor Sean Parker-Perry has being using the same IP address as Sam Smith. Liam Billington, the Tory blogger who runs the website Tameside Eye, says: "I used the service 'Did they Read It' to trace if Parker-Perry had read the e-mail that I sent. He opened the e-mail under the same IP address as Sam Smith - 81.149.96.144. The source code for this e-mail confirms this."

It appears that when Billington confronted Parker-Perry with this evidence, he reacted angrily saying: " I question both the source and motivation of the editor of this website. Since being expelled from the Conservative Party, spending time in police captivity and his close relations with the Tory PPC, Billington has continued to harrass(sic)me. I have categorically denied this allegation that I have e-mailed Billington and I believe Billington struggles to grasp the technological intelligence to make these statements...I have instructed solicitors to deal with Billington and his accusations, a matter that could once again involve the Police."

Readers of Northern Voices magazine (see NV 10) will be aware that this is not the first time that Councill Parker-Perry has alleged that he is being harassed by Billington. In 2008 he made a complaint to the police alleging harassment. On that occasion the Manchester CPS refused to bring a prosecution against Billington although he did spend 7 hours banged up at Ashton police station.

We would also point out that while Parker-Perry denies having e-mailed Billington, a perusal of the website (Tameside Eye) will show that on Feb 26 a Sean Parker-Perry sent not just one, but two e-mails to Billington - see website for further details.