Anger over ‘disgraceful’ appointment of Claire Fox to Lords

The former Brexit Party north west MEP was sworn in as a member of the House of Lords today, Thursday.

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced huge pressure to block the controversial peerage.

Ms Fox is a former core activist and organiser for the Revolutionary Communist Party.

After the 1993 Warrington bombing, which killed Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball, the Revolutionary Communist Party’s official newsletter stated that they defended ‘the right of the Irish people to take whatever measures necessary in their struggle for freedom’.

Ms Fox was also a member of the Irish Freedom Movement, which backed dissident republicanism.

Though the 60-year-old has said she does not condone violence, she has not apologised for the position at the time.

The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation, based at the Peace Centre, was established after the deaths of 12-year-old Tim and three-year-old Johnathan in the IRA bombing. It was set up by Tim’s parents, Colin and Wendy.

Following the announcement of Ms Fox’s nomination, Colin said the offer of a peerage ‘offends me and many others deeply’.

Labour’s Ms Nichols, who holds the seat for Warrington North, has been working tirelessly to raise the issue and ‘underline the hurt’ it has caused to people in the town.

MP Charlotte Nichols

She said: “Claire Fox’s introduction to the Lords today is an insult to Warrington.

“The chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, Lord Bew, made clear to me that ‘The Prime Minister makes the final decision on whether to recommend to Her Majesty that an individual is granted a peerage’.

“The blame for this disgraceful decision lies squarely at Boris Johnson’s feet.”

Warrington Borough Council leader Cllr Russ Bowden says the appointment of Claire Fox to the House of Lords is ‘nothing short of a disgrace and an affront’ to the people of Warrington.

The Labour politician added: “It doesn’t matter who proposed her for this position.

Cllr Russ Bowden

“The simple fact is that it was within the gift of Boris Johnson to refuse it.

“I am astonished that the MP for Warrington South didn’t stand up for our town and implore the Prime Minister to prevent this shameful appointment.”

Conservative Warrington South MP Andy Carter has issued a statement.

He said: “The former MEP is not a Conservative peer, she wasn’t nominated by the Conservative party.

“I certainly don’t share her politics and I find her comments just as offensive today as I did when I first heard them.

MP Andy Carter

“I’m not quite sure how Cllr Bowden is in a position to comment on what conversations I’ve had with the Prime Minister, given the Leader of the Council hasn’t bothered to engage with me since January. 

“At a time when we all need to work together, despite repeated attempts to work across the political spectrum for the good of local people, Cllr Bowden is too busy trying to score political points.”

Meanwhile, in a letter to the Prime Minister, seen by the Warrington Guardian, Buckley Town Council has expressed its ‘complete opposition’ to the appointment of Baroness Fox of Buckley.

The town council is ‘surprised that no forward communication’ was received about Ms Fox taking the title of the town.

It has informed Mr Johnson that it ‘renounces any association’ of Baroness Fox with Buckley and ‘disassociates’ itself from her title.

The letter said: “The actions of the said lady, in the past, do not associate with the values of Buckley or the town council.”

A spokesman for Number 10 Downing Street previously said: “Claire Fox has addressed her historic comments about the Troubles and acknowledged the pain that the families of the victims of terrorism have faced.

“She is not a Conservative peer, and her political views will differ from those of the Conservative Government.”