Censorship at ConHome?

LabourList is excited about two ConservativeHome posts about George Osborne that 'disappeared'.

The first by Ridley Grove appeared for about thirty minutes eight days ago. It argued that Mr Osborne was an electoral liability and should resign. Ridley is an employee of a think tank and is forbidden from using his real name. I granted him a login for CentreRight because he does speak for many readers. After his post appeared last week, however, I rang him and questioned whether it was a sensible thing to write. I worried that, this close to a vital election, it would be presented as a ConHome view by a journalist careless about the true author. He agreed to take the post down with a view to rewriting it. He since decided against doing so and the post has not been republished. Given that his initial words were captured on the internet his words may now receive more attention than if I hadn't intervened. Que Será Será.

The explanation for the second story is even more boring. I wrote a post about the North Korean Finance Minister being executed after botching a currency reform. I titled it 'A warning to George Osborne' but retitled it within seconds of posting to 'North Korea executes failed finance minister'. I decided the first title might appear to make light of a tragic death and belittle the suffering of the people of North Korea.

Some will say I was wrong to ask Ridley to take his post down. Perhaps, perhaps. But there has to be a certain responsibility from a site like ConHome so close to an election. Jonathan recently explained why, in this light, we were cracking down on obviously destructive comments. ConHome wants David Cameron to be Prime Minister and that's our focus but anyone who read today's post on the Tories' disappointing decision to persist with the trade union movement will know that we're hardly slavish.

Tim Montgomerie