Nadine Dorries was voted off I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here
(Picture: REUTERS)The appointment of Tory MP Nadine Dorries as the new secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport has prompted much criticism and backlash after several of her old tweets and quotes resurfaced.
The 64-year-old member of parliament for Mid Bedfordshire replaces Oliver Dowden in the role, who was promoted to chairman of the Conservative Party as part of Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday.
Dorries, who has written several novels, was a firm supporter of Brexit and was previously the minister for mental health but this new role has brought to light several quotes and tweets that MP has shared in recent years.
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One tweet that was widely shared came from December 2017 where she accused “left-wing snowflakes” of “killing comedy, tearing down historic statues, removing books from universities, dumbing down panto, removing Christ from Christmas and suppressing free speech.”
Left wing snowflakes are killing comedy, tearing down historic statues, removing books from universities, dumbing down panto, removing Christ from Christmas and suppressing free speech. Sadly, it must be true, history does repeat itself. It will be music next.
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) December 27, 2017
Also from December 2017, Dorries strangely boasted about her interns using her logins to access her computer, which is slightly concerning now that her new job now involves cyber security.
My staff log onto my computer on my desk with my login everyday. Including interns on exchange programmes. For the officer on @BBCNews just now to claim that the computer on Greens desk was accessed and therefore it was Green is utterly preposterous !!
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) December 2, 2017
Nadine Dorries now responsible for Cyber Security... https://t.co/EmzFoN7jgA
— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan 💙 (@DrRosena) September 15, 2021
From May 2013, she threatened then prime minister David Cameron by saying that he stood the chance of losing 50 seats if he continued to push for sex-same marriage.
Gay marriage comes back to Parliament in 10 days If Cameron wants to lose Conservative party fifty seats, he must keep on pushing through
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) May 11, 2013
In 2012, she also reportedly claimed that she had never met a gay couple that wanted to marry.
In 2012, new Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries claimed that she had never met a single gay couple who wanted to marry. When @PinkNews published this, thousands of gay couples tried to enlighten her. She voted against same-sex marriage anyway saying it took ‘sex out of marriage’ pic.twitter.com/eMBldumZkd
— Benjamin Cohen (@benjamincohen) September 15, 2021
Also from 2013, she complained that she had been called “racist” after saying that former Labour MP Chuka Umunna looked like ex-boxer Chris Eubank. Labour’s David Lammy called her appointment “disappointing” in light of this tweet.
.@BorisJohnson has booted out @GavinWilliamson who could not tell the difference between Maro Itoje and Marcus Rashford. To fill the role of Secretary of State for Not Recognising Black People, he has appointed @NadineDorries. This is so depressing in 2021. pic.twitter.com/3Vi67lfUYJ
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) September 15, 2021
On similar lines, Dorries was criticised in February 2019 after she said that journalist Ask Sakar and former Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen “looked the same” and that she had gotten confused because of their “accents“.
Anyway congratulations to Penny Mordaunt - I mean, Nadine Dorries - to her promotion to Culture Minister. pic.twitter.com/xJdlshgLnl
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) September 15, 2021
In August 2018, she claimed that Boris Johnson “didn’t go far enough” in his controversial article where he compared Muslim women who wear Burkas to “post boxes” and “bank robbers.”
The government should. No woman in a liberal, progressive society should be forced to cover up her beauty or her bruises. Boris didn’t go far enough. France, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, they aren’t on their knees in apology. Look to the bravery of Iranian women and learn. https://t.co/iD0gSP1j9B
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) August 7, 2018
In addition, Dorries has also shared several tweets that promoted Islamophobia including one from the now-suspended account of far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon aka Tommy Robinson.
ICYMI Nadine Dorries, the new Culture Secretary has:
— Miqdaad Versi (@miqdaad) September 15, 2021
1. Shared tweets by Tommy Robinson
2. Asked Sadiq Khan about grooming gangs (what's it got to do with him?)
3. Said vote rigging is "commonplace" in Muslim communities
See thread for evidence 👇🏽👇🏽https://t.co/9Q29PDvNAy pic.twitter.com/tBXxjroBda
She had also singled out radio host James O’Brien, who she called a ‘public school posh boy f**k wit’ after he had blocked Dorries on Twitter.
So hard to pick a favourite but this has got to be a contender. https://t.co/lHoYeRhFSJ
— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) September 15, 2021
Aside from the resurfaced quotes, Dorries’ appointment has been widely lambasted on Twitter by politicians and members of the media alike.
The appointment of Nadine Dorries as Culture Secretary is final confirmation (if you needed it) that we do indeed have the worst Prime Minister and Govt ever. Ever.
— Anna Soubry (@Anna_Soubry) September 15, 2021
Nadine Dorries as culture secretary? Satire is dead#Reshuffle
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) September 15, 2021
The Arts are, at their core, about empathy.
— Stephen Mangan (@StephenMangan) September 15, 2021
Nadine Dorries is now Culture Secretary.
If Nadine Dorries is the best we can do as Culture Secretary then we're in even more trouble than I thought. What a shambles.
— Matthew Stadlen (@MatthewStadlen) September 15, 2021
When you realise that Nadine Dorries has just been appointed Culture Secretary by a man whose favourite film is Vince Vaughan's Dodgeball it all makes sense.
— Otto English (@Otto_English) September 15, 2021
indy100 has contacted Dorries for comment.
