Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Conservative councillor quits cabinet after admitting links with Provisional IRA

From our You Couldn't Make It Up department.

The BBC reports:

A Croydon councillor has quit her cabinet post after admitting she had close ties with the Provisional IRA in the early 1970s.

A council spokesman said Conservative Maria Gatland confirmed that she is the author of To Take Arms: My Year with the Provisional IRA.

Mrs Gatland wrote the book under her maiden name, Maria McGuire.

When confronted with her past by a local schools activist, Mrs Gatland offered her resignation from cabinet.

The council spokesman said in addition to stepping down as cabinet member for children and young people, fellow councillors were urging Mrs Gatland to resign from the council.

This may seem rather unfair when you consider everyone was happy for Martin McGuinness to be in charge of education in Northern Ireland for many years.

Later: I have found a review of her book.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The only reason I can see to resign is that she joined the Conservative AND UNIONIST party. Bobby Sands will be spinning in his grave.

Anonymous said...

Her book was published 35 years ago:

http://www.amazon.com/Take-Arms-Maria-McGuire/dp/0670717754

If she can still be prosecuted for membership of the IRA then prosecute...

If not, she should stay as a councillor and do the job she was elected to do.

Anonymous said...

As a young woman in the 70s she made a very bad decision and got involved with the Provos; once she saw behind the romantic mask, she got out of the IRA and rather bravely wrote a book condemning them. Whilst I would normally cheer a Tory resignation, in this case I don’t see any reason for her to resign.