Denmead councillor suspended for Islamophobic tweets takes aim at Boris Johnson's 'letter boxes' jibe

Denmead ward member Judith Clementson has repeatedly refused to ‘confirm or deny’ she is behind the @Clem205 identity which tweeted about a ‘dangerous Muslim agenda for world domination’.

Now she has been classed as an independent councillor, and removed from the Conservative opposition council group while she is suspended by the national party.

In an e-mail to fellow councillors, seen by The News, she turned on her party’s response to now prime minister Boris Johnson’s description of Muslim women in burkas as looking ‘like letter boxes’ in a 2018 Telegraph column.

She said: ‘The Conservative Party, presumably protecting its own position, has judged and condemned me without trial, as it were, and I am less than impressed with their handling of this matter especially as our prime minister, after his gaffe about “letter boxes” appears not to have been suspended from the party!’

Cllr Clementson said she has ‘not heard’ from the Tory party since February.

In her e-mail to councillors, Cllr Clementson added: ‘I do not intend to deny or admit that the private account Duffy Mac @Clem205 is my account but since I concur with the sentiments expressed, I am happy to own it!

‘That said, it is important to note that any tweet taken out of context is often misjudged.’

Anti-racism organisation Hope not Hate first linked her to the account in March this year.

It comes as two other Conservative councillors have been suspended pending investigations.

Cosham ward member Lee Mason faces a probe for baking apparent swastikas on a hot cross bun, while Eastney and Craneswater’s Linda Symes shared ‘undeniably racist’ Facebook posts.

Last December @Clem205 tweeted: ‘I’m a Tory councillor and have been a Tory supporter all my life except to campaign for the Referendum Party as a PPC, UKIP and I also managed the Vote Leave campaign in my constituency.’

The Eurosceptic Referendum Party stood a candidate named Judith Clementson in the South West Surrey constituency in 1997.

Cllr Clementson was elected to Winchester City Council in May last year for the Conservative Party, having previously stood for Ukip in 2014.

‘You will not get me to say whose account that is,' she told The News. ‘I’m taking the rap.’

She added: ‘As long as the Denmead people want me to continue as their representative, I will. If they don’t – great, I have more time on my hands.’

Her e-mail added: ‘I do not condone the harassment, belittling or denigration of individuals for their religious beliefs, their LGBTQ lifestyle, their skin colour or their culture - but I am concerned that Clause 2 of Article 10 (of the Human Rights Act), which enables restriction on freedom of speech, is flawed in that one person’s right breaches the rights of another.’

Asked about all three councillors’ being suspended, a Conservative Party spokeswoman said: ‘The investigations are ongoing.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.