Nigel Hastilow wrote for yesterday's Express & Star. He offered his reflections on recent events. A scan of the full article is published at the bottom of this post (click on it to enlarge) but here are a few key sections:
"Caroline, the Chairman of the party, didn't mince her words. She was not happy. My political career was on the line."
"I turned the phone off and tried to enjoy a fireworks display with, among others, a very senior Conservative. They said they agreed with everything I'd said; they were just very glad it was me saying it, not them."
A very senior Conservative, eh?
On that meeting with Caroline Spelman:
"Caroline herself was charming. She explained how sensitive the immigration issue was and how dangerous it was for the party to be considered racist... I explained I had not written about race but about numbers... Then she cut to the chase. My political career would survive if I signed a press release drawn up by the party's chief spin doctor, Andy Coulson. It included this sentence: "Although I did not - and do not - support Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' comments, I accept that some of the wording of my column was incredibly stupid."... I was also required to submit any future articles for the Express & Star (or anywhere else) to the Conservative campaign headquarters before submitting them to the editor. It was this, even more that the "incredibly stupid" line, that I couldn't stomach."
"I am surprised the Conservative Party is so intimidated by the BBC and "The Observer" that it must toe the metropolitan line at all costs. But that's apparently how politics works these days."
