Tory mayor candidate tells LBC he 'absolutely does not' regret Sarah Everard tweet
11 March 2021, 09:22
Shaun Bailey "does not" regret Tweet politicising Sarah Everard case
Conservative London Mayor candidate Shaun Bailey has been branded "utterly vile" and "shameless" for "politicising" the Sarah Everard case in a Tweet on Wednesday night.
The mayoral hopeful came under fire, being accused of attempting to use Sarah Everard's disappearance for his own political gain - yet he insisted to LBC's Nick Ferrari he "absolutely [does] not" regret the choice.
He Tweeted last night after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick confirmed that human remains had been found in Kent during the investigation. However, the evidence has not been officially linked to the missing 33-year-old.
A Metropolitan police officer is under arrest on suspicion of her murder.
Mr Bailey stood by his Tweet, adding that his "heart goes out to the family for their loss."
Nick reprimanded: "We don't know that it's a loss, this is what you don't seem to understand. Unless you have information that we don't...they have not been positively identified. You should know that as someone who wants to be the Mayor of London.
"You're speaking out of terms."
As a father and husband it breaks me to think that my wife and daughter have to live in fear in their own city.
— Shaun Bailey (@ShaunBaileyUK) March 10, 2021
It doesn’t have to be this way.
As Mayor, I‘ll ensure that we are working to deliver for the safety of women and girls in London.https://t.co/aVf2Clabt1
Last night, he Tweeted: "As a father and husband it breaks me to think that my wife and daughter have to live in fear in their own city. It doesn’t have to be this way. As Mayor, I‘ll ensure that we are working to deliver for the safety of women and girls in London."
The mayoral candidate told LBC that "when someone is missing in your family it's a loss", and said that having been a youth worker for over 20 years he has "dealt with missing people many times."
Mr Bailey said: "I don't regret putting out this Tweet because I do want to draw attention to the fact that we've had so many murders in London. 15,000 knife offences in the 12 months before lockdown."
Nick countered that the Tory candidate has "jumped to assumptions that the young woman has been murdered."
"You just said we've had too many murders in London," he said to Mr Bailey, who insisted he has not jumped to that conclusion.
Nick pointed out that it was Mr Bailey that brought up murders, signifying he believed this to be the fate of the young woman despite having no evidence.
"What's brought me into murders is that you've told me an MP is upset with what I'm saying but I want to focus on the crime in London."
