MP criticized for retweet

6:00pm Thursday 21st February 2013 in News By Lydia Johnson

The joke MP Jesse Norman re-posted on Twitter. The joke MP Jesse Norman re-posted on Twitter.

A HEREFORDSHIRE MP has faced criticism for a joke he re-posted on a social networking site.

MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire Jesse Norman retweeted a joke on Twitter on Friday about Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, who is on trial accused of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The joke read: “Roses are red, violets are glorious, never sneak up, on Oscar Pistorius.”

He has since deleted the tweet and apologised for any offence caused.

Mr Norman said: “There are two very different issues here – one is a lighthearted and ironic Valentine’s Day retweet at the expense of Oscar Pistorius.

“The other is the much wider and far more serious issue around allegations of domestic violence and the mistreatment of women.

“Locally, I take these issues extremely seriously.

“I was delighted that we were able to lobby the government successfully to
fund a rape crisis centre in Herefordshire in 2011.

“I met recently with the police superintendent in Hereford and we specifically discussed the under-reporting of domestic violence in the county, and his plans to address it. I also raised this issue at a meeting last month with the new police commissioner.

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“But there remains far more work to be done on these issues, and I would be delighted to meet with West Mercia Women’s Aid to discuss them in detail.

“Needless to say the retweet was not intended to cause offence.”

But the joke caused a storm on Twitter.

John Prescott, deputy Prime Minister between 1997 to 2007, wrote: “Look what Eton-educated Tory MP Jesse Norman tweeted and deleted. Tipped to be Tory leader.”

He then added: “Roses are red, Tories are blue, in 2015 we’ll get rid of you.”

One user, WelshWallace, wrote: “He’s deleted the tweet now but for an MP to joke about someone being shot and killed is just beyond comprehension.”

Comments(34)

Gillian1961 says...
6:38pm Thu 21 Feb 13

Roses are red violets are blue if you want to hire a clown Jesse Normanwill do

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Gillian1961 says...
6:39pm Thu 21 Feb 13

Roses are red violets are blue if you want to hire a clown Jesse Norman will do

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littlewhitebull says...
8:14pm Thu 21 Feb 13

I am glad to see that Jesse Norman is not letting his education get in the way of his ignorance..

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William Rudd says...
10:27pm Thu 21 Feb 13

“Roses are red, Tories are blue, in 2015 we’ll get rid of you. lol

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William Rudd says...
10:33pm Thu 21 Feb 13

And MP under fire..Very droll HT

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Ubique5740 says...
10:38pm Thu 21 Feb 13

Both the MP for his comments on Twitter which he tried to turn round into good publicity - and failed and the HT headlines are both in very poor taste and judgement.
An innocent girl had been killed by the firing of a gun - the public expect more from both of you .

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swampy says...
11:58pm Thu 21 Feb 13

What a complete tool this man is. I am not in the pubic eye and would never re-tweet something like that. I lost any respect I had for him over a year ago.
He is a waste of time, and the sooner he moves back to London to be with his family on a full time basis and we get someone else to represent us the better.

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Grid Knocker says...
6:27am Fri 22 Feb 13

Not very Captain Sensible today!

I entirely agree with other posters about the crass stupidity of the HT's headline writer.

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Werintrouble says...
11:23am Fri 22 Feb 13

It's a joke! Whatever is a matter with us nowadays.
Yes, he should know that being in the public eye will attract attention but why is it that he has to get slaughtered, apologise and then serve a period of public scorn before he's forgiven.
It's madness and so are we for even thinking this joke is bad and worth commenting upon.
Is there anything you can say or any opinion you can hold that don't upset our society.

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All Legs says...
12:52pm Fri 22 Feb 13

'Werintrouble' The reason, I imagine, that people do not find it funny is because in our society two women per week are killed by current or ex-partners, and that one in four women in the UK will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Do you happen to find this statistic 'madness'? Our MPs regardless of their political standing should be campaigning to end this violence towards women - not making a joke out of it and people like you should think and look deeper before making such shallow comments.

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silentbull says...
1:03pm Fri 22 Feb 13

All Legs wrote:
'Werintrouble' The reason, I imagine, that people do not find it funny is because in our society two women per week are killed by current or ex-partners, and that one in four women in the UK will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Do you happen to find this statistic 'madness'? Our MPs regardless of their political standing should be campaigning to end this violence towards women - not making a joke out of it and people like you should think and look deeper before making such shallow comments.
Don't forget the men!!
It might not be reported as much but their are also men out there who face 'violence' from a partner/wife

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All Legs says...
1:10pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Silentbull I absolutely agree and you have my sincere apologies. The purpose of my comment was to highlight domestic violence as a whole. I am all for having a joke - but politicians really should stop and think!

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Werintrouble says...
1:36pm Fri 22 Feb 13

All Legs, For Gods sakes. Why do I have to be placed in your politically correct box and be referred to as, 'People like you'.
Its a joke! Its humour. Its fun. Why, whenever some issue like this is raised good people like you surface and turn it into a political football and express offence simply because of a need to be offended.
Please dont be rude to me. I'm expressing my opinion.
Whats next for me? I suppose you'll now say I'm in favour of domestic violence.
Its a joke! Please try and keep some perspective on this.
I'm not trying to hurt anyones feelings. I'm just questioning the madness that is this reaction to a joke and now you saying, 'People like you'!

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All Legs says...
1:55pm Fri 22 Feb 13

I do not express offence, nor am I offended, and I have no desire to put you in a box. You have your opinion by all means - as you are perfectly entitled to. Personally I, along with 1000s of others, fail to see the funny side hence the need for him to take down his tweet and apologise. I note he is suddenly keen to visit a local refuge. Perhaps you would benefit too. You may just then have a little empathy for those who found this distasteful.

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silentbull says...
1:59pm Fri 22 Feb 13

I understand where 'werintrouble' is coming from "its a joke" i get those kind of jokes off friends & family all the time.
'but' i also understand where 'all legs' is coming from too, with domestic violence on the increase for women & MEN its a very serious problem in the modern world.
But whether its a joke or not i would NEVER pass on something like that to anybody i don't know and putting something like that on a public website is completely wrong!!!

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Werintrouble says...
2:10pm Fri 22 Feb 13

All Legs, You've just done it again. You cant help it!
Your now inviting me to visit a Refuge so that I may then have a little empathy toward victims of domestic violence and the thousands who have been offended.
I give up! I'm going out to burn books!
How about I shut my mouth, leave this site before I put my foot in it and end up offending someone which I dont want to do.

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All Legs says...
2:16pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Silentbull - thank you! I too get all sorts of jokes sent to me and they can be hilarious, I am not some stuffy 'pc' bore, but when you are an elected MP and society is dealing with sensitive issues such as domestic violence and gun crime you cannot do something as foolish as he did and not expect the backlash! I

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Werintrouble says...
2:30pm Fri 22 Feb 13

All Legs, Do you not see the big problem that now exists within our society.
Just from me expressing a different view to yours, I've been described as 'People Like You' and I need to visit a Refuge so that I can better understand thousands of offended people and victims of domestic violence.
You've come up with these hurtful conclusions directed toward me without knowing anything about me other than I didn't see any great harm in a joke.

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Ubique5740 says...
2:41pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Drifting off the story......
I see in the cheaper Journal that HCC are intending to remove the lime trees from the grassed central reservation in Edgar St near to the "Tesco" island.
Not to date published in the HT , just wondering why. Is it a similar story to some which come out of HCC and elsewhere which are of public interest which the HT do not publish?

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Herefordian07 says...
2:44pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Whilst I acknowledge and agree that Jesse Norman showed a huge lack of judgement in re-tweeting a joke that was already in the public arena, a person in his position should be more astute, I detest violence domestic and otherwise, however, I do take Werintroubles view that humour is subjective and you need to know your audience before certain material is used. In the past the British humour has often pulled us through by attempting to make light of
a troubling situation, it would be a terrible shame if the thought police remove our ability to laugh.

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All Legs says...
2:45pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Werintrouble - you seem to have taken this very personally. I am bristled by the MPs actions, not your opinion. Your opinion is yours and you are very entitled to it. In fact, I get what you are saying about society perhaps needing to lighten up somewhat. But not when you are in his position and making fun about something that may be incredibly sensitive to some people. I say no more on it.

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Werintrouble says...
2:56pm Fri 22 Feb 13

All Legs, Thank you. I like you again.

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Ubique5740 says...
2:59pm Fri 22 Feb 13

And I like you both!
You both put forward your thoughts and that's the way it should be. No need to fall out or get personal. Thank you.

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All Legs says...
3:18pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Haha - Werintrouble - I like you too and look forward to our next debate! And Unique5740 - the trees yes! I saw the posters attached to them last night as I drove home. Shame.

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silentbull says...
3:40pm Fri 22 Feb 13

I just like legs 'ahem' :-)

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Interested Onlooker says...
5:56pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Ubique5740 wrote:
Drifting off the story...... I see in the cheaper Journal that HCC are intending to remove the lime trees from the grassed central reservation in Edgar St near to the "Tesco" island. Not to date published in the HT , just wondering why. Is it a similar story to some which come out of HCC and elsewhere which are of public interest which the HT do not publish?
The story about the lime trees is the main story on page 5 of the Hereford Times dated Thursday, February 21, 2013. with a large picture of the trees and a picture of people protesting at their removal.

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Biomech says...
4:15pm Sun 24 Feb 13

"The other is the much wider and far more serious issue around allegations of domestic violence and the mistreatment of women."

Of for Christ sake, this is exactly what I have been talking about in other threads. So if I make a joke about an Irishman, does that mean it has deep seated issues about terrorism or the facking potato famine?

I tell you what offends me FAR more than any joke. The people who make a joke then don't have the backbone or moral fiber to stand by it. They immediately start apologising and retracting all their comments.

Ricky Gervais had it right "offence is taken, not given"

You shouldn't have to apologise for the things you do on purpose.

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RogerLFC says...
4:54pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Interested Onlooker wrote:
Ubique5740 wrote:
Drifting off the story...... I see in the cheaper Journal that HCC are intending to remove the lime trees from the grassed central reservation in Edgar St near to the "Tesco" island. Not to date published in the HT , just wondering why. Is it a similar story to some which come out of HCC and elsewhere which are of public interest which the HT do not publish?
The story about the lime trees is the main story on page 5 of the Hereford Times dated Thursday, February 21, 2013. with a large picture of the trees and a picture of people protesting at their removal.
It would be useful to reproduce the picture/story on the website. I'm sure a few online readers would like to view/comment on it ...

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dippyhippy says...
5:06pm Mon 25 Feb 13

RogerLFC, good point,well made! The Lime Trees are featuring heavily on another thread of news, " Speculation stores are leaving city centre"Have a look if you're interested!! Often find some stories don't make it on here,which is a shame. The price the HT is now, I would think more people will want to view on-line,rather than being mugged at the newsagent!!

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RogerLFC says...
7:17pm Mon 25 Feb 13

dippyhippy wrote:
RogerLFC, good point,well made! The Lime Trees are featuring heavily on another thread of news, " Speculation stores are leaving city centre"Have a look if you're interested!! Often find some stories don't make it on here,which is a shame. The price the HT is now, I would think more people will want to view on-line,rather than being mugged at the newsagent!!
I have seen a homemade sign by the trees asking for them to be 'saved' .... This was when I drove around the Tesco Island. I am only guessing they are going because of the A49 'pinch point' highways work on the roundabouts in the City. If the removal is 'necessary' then I'll live with it. Not seen any plans of the work tho ...

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fordshire77 says...
9:06am Tue 26 Feb 13

WTF.....Jessie "the tea towel seller" Norman Tipped to be Tory leader! Thats a new one on me...how come now one else picked up on this one? or is it a case or I missed that story and everyone else already knows about it!

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RogerLFC says...
10:49am Tue 26 Feb 13

fordshire77 wrote:
WTF.....Jessie "the tea towel seller" Norman Tipped to be Tory leader! Thats a new one on me...how come now one else picked up on this one? or is it a case or I missed that story and everyone else already knows about it!
We already know about it obviously. He never voted in the gay marriage debate and led the rebels against reform of The Lords ... ;-)

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mizza21 says...
3:32pm Tue 26 Feb 13

He's so slimy.
He didn't vote in the gay marriage debate so that he can look loyal to the party by not going against it, yet sensitive to the gay community.

I see his horrible toady face in the Hereford United Programme every couple of weeks too. "Proud to support the Bulls" my ar$3.
I've never seen him at a game.

He is what Tony Benn used to call a weather vane.
A career politician. He'll go whatever way the political wind blows.

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silentbull says...
6:23am Thu 28 Feb 13

mizza21 wrote:
He's so slimy.
He didn't vote in the gay marriage debate so that he can look loyal to the party by not going against it, yet sensitive to the gay community.

I see his horrible toady face in the Hereford United Programme every couple of weeks too. "Proud to support the Bulls" my ar$3.
I've never seen him at a game.

He is what Tony Benn used to call a weather vane.
A career politician. He'll go whatever way the political wind blows.
Nice to see a fellow bull,
And i fully agree with your post

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