Labour candidate for Milton Keynes North denies breaking rules and slams desperate Tory rival

The Milton Keynes City Council planning decision was posted on the Olney Noticeboard and potentially seen by its 17,000 members. The plans are politically sensitive and a key battleground between the Labour-run council and the Conservatives.

The press office manager at Milton Keynes Council then ‘liked’ the post before blaming his ‘mistake’ on a ‘dislocated thumb’.

During the period between the notice of an election and the election itself, local authorities should not publish any publicity on controversial issues or report views or proposals in such a way that identifies them with any individual members or groups of members.

The faux pas was picked up and highlighted on the parliamentary Guido Fawkes political blog.

When the council’s press office manager was called out by a member of the public he explained: “I dislocated my thumb a few days ago and one of my hands is in a brace. I mistakenly liked the comment from my personal account which I immediately unliked when I realised, well before your comment.”

The MK Citizen reached out to Chris Curtis for a response via an email address which, it has been claimed, is no longer active.

The Labour candidate has now responded to the claims and denies breaking rules, labelling it a desperate attempt from his Tory rivals ahead of the General Election next week.

A Labour Party spokesperson told the MK Citizen: “Neither Chris Curtis nor the Labour Party have broken any rules relating to information from the council.

"The claim is a desperate last gasp from a Conservative MP who has spent five years in Parliament and achieved nothing, so has nothing positive to say.

"On Thursday 4 July the people of MK North will have the chance to turn the page of this sort of politics and change this country.”

Milton Keynes Council was approached for a comment last week but is yet to respond.