In the dog house: Mario Creatura
The mounting scandal over the cult-like SPAC Nation church should force the Conservative Party to sack Mario Creatura as a General Election candidate.
That’s the view of Steve Reed OBE, who will be seeking re-election as the Labour MP for Croydon North on polling day, December 12.
Earlier this week, Inside Croydon revealed that members of the SPAC Nation church are the subject of fraud investigations by the police and a multi-national bank.
One member of SPAC Nation, 20-year-old Jayde Edwards, was the Tory candidate for the Fairfield ward by-election, where voting has just closed.
Edwards was not selected as a candidate by grass-roots Tory Party members, but was picked to fight the by-election by the executive of the local Conservatives. It is suggested this was done at the bidding of the egregiously ambitious Creatura, who was keen to get dozens of SPAC Nation church members out on the streets, delivering leaflets and canvassing for his own personal parliamentary election campaign in Croydon Central.
Until three months ago, Creatura was working at the heart of government, as a special adviser at 10 Downing Street. The former parliamentary aide to “Lord” Gavin Barwell, Creatura is a Coulsdon councillor.
But now Reed says that because Creatura has allowed Croydon Tories to be subject to entryism by SPAC Nation, without properly checking out the church’s reputation and activities, or the widespread allegations made against them over many months by former church members, he should be dropped as the parliamentary candidate in Croydon Central.
Shadow child protection minister Steve Reed does not think Mario Creatura is fit for public office
“The unfolding scandal of Mario Creatura entangling the Conservatives with a cult accused of fraud and criminal exploitation is growing by the hour,” Reed tweeted this morning.
“I’d say it’s now 50/50 whether he will remain their candidate for Croydon Central as they try to distance themselves.”
Reed is Labour’s shadow minister for child protection, and today he told Inside Croydon that he is “determined to expose and stop exploitation” by SPAC Nation.
Reed said: “There’s a lot of national media interest in the story (some as a result of your very good article). SPAC have been reported to the child protection authorities and the police by various sources.
Vote Tory, get SPAC: Creatura, centre of picture alongside Jayde Edwards. The Tory parliamentary candidate has allowed SPAC Nation entryism in his local party
“I’ve now received many allegations from whistleblowers, parents and teachers which I’ve also forwarded to the appropriate authorities.
“Once the Tory hierarchy become aware – as they will – of how Creatura has entangled them with this organisation, I’d say there’s a good chance they might replace him as their candidate if they want any hope of taking the seat.”
Croydon Central was won in 2017 by Labour’s Sarah Jones with a 5,000-vote majority from Creatura’s old boss, Barwell. The seat is regarded as a Lab-Con marginal, though, with some polling recently indicating that at the General Election the Tories could win back the seat they had held since 2005.
The Conservatives have yet to name their candidate to challenge Reed in Croydon North. Though a thankless task, Croydon Tories would usually be expected to have a name in the public domain by now, at least to appear to be going through the motions of contesting the election.
There has been some suggestion from members of Croydon Conservatives that – again at Creatura’s prompting – they were to have another member of SPAC Nation on the ballot paper, but this week’s developments have forced them into a hasty re-think.
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and BBC London News
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Edwards was not selected as a candidate by grass-roots Tory Party members, but was picked to fight the by-election by the executive of the local Conservatives.
What happened in the selection of the Labour candidate for Fairfield? Selected by the local members? Labour did not want a BME candidate so selected “Shoot Trump” candidate.
Don’t think it is good advice for one political party to take on the recommendations given to it from another. Where would we be without entertainment of Baron “Arab Girls” Barwell and now Mario “#Moneylaunderingcult” Creatura.
If you cannot even recognise complete incompetence while you are doing it, why should others stop you ?