Email blunder reveals Labour council chief's hate for Maggie saying her wants to fly smiley face flag at half mast
The Labour leader of a city council
told his colleagues he would like to fly a flag with a ‘happy smiling
face’ on it on the day of Baroness Thatcher’s funeral.
Amid a continuing surge of hatred from the Left in response to the former prime minister’s death, the leader of Left-wing Coventry council John Mutton wrote to his colleagues to ask whether they thought the town hall flag should be lowered to half-mast on the day of the funeral.
He wrote that personally he would rather ‘fly a flag with a happy smiling face on’.
Another Labour colleague responded that he ‘would have preferred to see her hanging from a flag pole’.
The messages emerged after one of the politicians mistakenly sent the email thread to all the councillors in the city, including disgusted Conservative councillors.
Coventry is among several Labour-led councils who are refusing to lower the flags on council buildings as a mark of respect during Lady Thatcher’s funeral on Wednesday.
Rotherham council insisted it was ‘not a day of national mourning’, while Wigan council said it would not lower its flag as feelings toward Lady Thatcher’s policies ‘remain strong and raw’.
Labour-run Manchester council and Sheffield council, which both have no Conservative councillors, have also refused to carry out the gesture.
South Tyneside council echoed other councils who said that they would not fly flags at half-mast because they had ‘received no official instruction from the Cabinet Office’.
In the email sent on Thursday at 1.57pm, Mr Mutton wrote to his party colleagues: ‘Whilst I have had to smile at some of the jokes doing the rounds following the death of Thatcher, it has been brought to my attention that normally, following the death of a former prime minister, we receive an instruction from the Queen telling us to fly the Union Flag at half-mast.
‘I would like to gauge the views of
comrades. My own view is that I would fly a flag with a happy smiling
face on.’ In response, Labour councillor Dave Chater wrote: ‘Would have
preferred to see her hanging from a flag pole in the early 80s! A
definite no from me.’
But instead of sending the message just to his ‘comrades’, Mr Chater accidentally sent the thread to all councillors.
Coventry’s Tory leader Kevin Foster said: ‘While some did not agree with Margaret Thatcher’s policies, this sort of glee at her death says more about the two councillors concerned than it does about her.’
Last night Mr Chater was unrepentant, saying he was ‘ashamed’ of Lady Thatcher.
Mr Mutton said: ‘If offence has been caused, to anyone, I very much regret it.’
Amid a continuing surge of hatred from the Left in response to the former prime minister’s death, the leader of Left-wing Coventry council John Mutton wrote to his colleagues to ask whether they thought the town hall flag should be lowered to half-mast on the day of the funeral.
He wrote that personally he would rather ‘fly a flag with a happy smiling face on’.
Another Labour colleague responded that he ‘would have preferred to see her hanging from a flag pole’.
The messages emerged after one of the politicians mistakenly sent the email thread to all the councillors in the city, including disgusted Conservative councillors.
Coventry is among several Labour-led councils who are refusing to lower the flags on council buildings as a mark of respect during Lady Thatcher’s funeral on Wednesday.
Rotherham council insisted it was ‘not a day of national mourning’, while Wigan council said it would not lower its flag as feelings toward Lady Thatcher’s policies ‘remain strong and raw’.
Labour-run Manchester council and Sheffield council, which both have no Conservative councillors, have also refused to carry out the gesture.
South Tyneside council echoed other councils who said that they would not fly flags at half-mast because they had ‘received no official instruction from the Cabinet Office’.
In the email sent on Thursday at 1.57pm, Mr Mutton wrote to his party colleagues: ‘Whilst I have had to smile at some of the jokes doing the rounds following the death of Thatcher, it has been brought to my attention that normally, following the death of a former prime minister, we receive an instruction from the Queen telling us to fly the Union Flag at half-mast.
Falling out: Labour and the Tories have had a row over whether to have a flag at half-mast at Coventry City Hall (pictured)
But instead of sending the message just to his ‘comrades’, Mr Chater accidentally sent the thread to all councillors.
Coventry’s Tory leader Kevin Foster said: ‘While some did not agree with Margaret Thatcher’s policies, this sort of glee at her death says more about the two councillors concerned than it does about her.’
Last night Mr Chater was unrepentant, saying he was ‘ashamed’ of Lady Thatcher.
Mr Mutton said: ‘If offence has been caused, to anyone, I very much regret it.’
