'Threatening' email from MP; Wirral mother's row with Field over school.Byline: LIAM MURPHY Mur·phy , William Parry 1892-1987. American physician. He shared a 1934 Nobel Prize for discovering that a diet of liver relieves anemia. BIRKENHEAD MP Frank Field is at the centre of a row over a "threatening" email he sent to a constituent. Mr Field responded to Noctorum resident Hazel Birchall after she criticised him for not attending a council meeting over proposals to replace three secondary schools in Birkenhead with two new academies. Mrs Birchall wrote to her MP via his website, saying she thought it was "very lame lame (lam) incapable of normal locomotion; deviating from normal gait. lame adj. 1. Disabled so that movement, especially walking, is difficult or impossible. 2. " of him not to attend the meeting over the controversial plans to close her son's school, Ridgeway A ridgeway is a road or path that follows the highest part of the landscape. Roads and pathways
She said: "We are aware you are in full support of the proposed academies, but this does not excuse your absence from this very important meeting to take on board the feelings of the community which you are suppose to represent. It's the community which has given you the privileged position you are in at the moment, but I am not alone when I say I hope it will not be for much longer." Mr Field replied five hours later, accusing Mrs Birchall of sending a "grotesquely gro·tesque adj. 1. Characterized by ludicrous or incongruous distortion, as of appearance or manner. 2. Outlandish or bizarre, as in character or appearance. See Synonyms at fantastic. 3. rude email". He continued: "I shall call at your house, if you don't mind, and you can say this to my face, and I can reply in kind." Mrs Birchall, who attended Ridgeway high herself and now has a son in year eight, said she remained extremely upset at the MP's response. She followed up her original email to Mr Field, saying: "I have been feeling very upset, intimidated in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. and threatened by your reply. "To hear these words from an MP is just completely shocking and unacceptable. I would like for you to accept it was very wrong of you to make me feel like this." Last night, Mr Field's office released further replies to emails the MP had received following the meeting held at Wirral Council last week, in which he justified his support for the academies as a way of improving school results in his constituency. He also pointed out it is unusual for an MP to become so involved in an education matter, but he did so because of its importance. * Read the full email exchange between Frank Field and Hazel Birchall at http://blogs. wirralnews. co.uk/hamil tonsquared/ CAPTION(S): Frank Field MP |
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