Ask Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health.
On January 16 Williams wrote that he was "pleased to help launch Europe’s first major campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of glitzy tobacco packaging to children. The Coalition Government will shortly launch its consultation exercise on whether to follow the example of Australia and introduce the plain packaging of cigarettes" ... blah blah, blah blah blah.
I mentioned it here and invited people to add a comment on Williams' blog. To date there are 958 comments. (Most of his posts attract single figures.)
At the time I estimated that 99 per cent of the comments were strongly opposed to Williams' vision of a Utopian smoke free world. So what did he do? He fell back on the desperate argument that most of his detractors must be in the pay (or a stooge) of Big Tobacco.
Back on this blog I described this response as "pathetic". To my surprise he responded with a comment of his own:
Oh Simon, I'm disappointed. Pathetic is such a mild insult. Your mates have gone rather further on my blog. It's been at least a few hours since someone alluded to my neo-Nazi cum fascist opinions.
Anyway, on a serious note, whether you like it or not the Coalition Government is about to launch a consultation on plain packs. I hope you and your friends will be able to rise to the debate.
Well, I couldn't resist that challenge so, this week, following the launch of the Hands Off Our Packs website on Monday, I emailed the cheerleader for plain packaging as follows:
Dear Stephen,
We have just launched a website, Hands Off Our Packs, to counter the arguments put forward by the Plain Packs Protect campaign, among others.
During the course of the consultation on plain packaging we will be organising a number of events including a panel discussion and debate at a central London venue close to Parliament Square.
We would welcome the opportunity to have a public debate on this issue and I would therefore like to invite you to speak on a date – probably in March – that is convenient for you.
Our proposed format is a debate with four speakers, split 2:2 for and against plain packaging, and a chairman. Alternatively we will invite 4-5 panelists with a variety of opinions.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Simon Clark
Director, Forest
No reply.
Yesterday I rang his Westminster office and spoke to an assistant researcher who thought he had seen my email but asked me re-send it so he could bring it to Williams' attention.
So I sent the invitation again and here is the (very efficient) researcher's response:
Many thanks for sending that information through to me. I do recall seeing this invitation now, and I did in fact show it to Stephen earlier this week.
He informed me that although he would ordinarily be happy to speak in such a debate, he is reluctant to take part in this particular discussion because he believes that it would be preferable if the debate were organised and hosted by an independent body, rather than by Forest.
Unfortunately therefore Stephen does not feel that he would be able to participate in this discussion.
So, having challenged us to "rise to the debate" on plain packaging, Stephen Williams couldn't be bothered replying in person to our invitation and he is now trying to wriggle his way out of a public debate on the feeblest of grounds.
I guess we'll just have to find an "independent body" to organise and host the debate. Can't wait to hear what his excuse will be when that happens!
See also: The difference between an MP with bottle and one without
Simon Clark