A SENIOR Southampton politician has defended his wife after she launched a scathing attack on the city’s residents, labelling them “cretins”, “bigoted” and “inbred”.
The wife of Southampton’s environment and transport boss, Cllr Asa Thorpe, made the offensive comments on the Daily Echo website.
The remarks were posted anonymously under the username “commnurse” – but the Daily Echo can reveal that they were written by Mrs Thorpe.
Yesterday, Cllr Thorpe backed his wife, Anthea, following the online comments, which she posted over an 18-month period.
And when confronted at their Millbrook home, the couple refused to offer an apology for any offence which may have been caused.
The first post, in which she attacked some of the city’s residents, was made back in February last year, just three months before her husband was elected.
It came in response to the axing of her father, David Atwill, from his job as New Forest District Council’s spin doctor.
In a cutting attack, she wrote: “It’s so amusing to see that the petty-minded, bigoted, inbred of Southampton have decided to have their say on here!
Anger “I only wish that the rest of you led fulfilling and worthwhile lives, but I expect in truth you do not.
I sincerely hope that your working lives are touched with redundancy and then you will truly know how it feels to be abandoned by your colleagues and career that has served you well... this man has given more to society than portrayed in this newspaper, but you cretins who are quick to stand and point will never realise this, get a life.”
And Mrs Thorpe further angered campaigners fighting to save the home and job of long-serving cemetery superintendent Jim Emery.
Mr Emery, 60, is set to lose his job of 26 years after Cllr Thorpe said he was powerless to reverse a decision to axe the position.
Mrs Thorpe, who again did not reveal her identity but posted comments under her username, appears to sarcastically label the campaign to help “your precious Jim” as “really well thought through”.
Earlier this month, Mrs Thorpe then became involved in another war of words on our website, this time with another Daily Echo reader, David Extance, over Mr Emery’s proposed redundancy.
She states: “When is Mr Emery himself going to pipe up instead of letting everyone else speak for him? “Instead of hating the council which you have served for all these years, why not carry on doing something and feeling like you still have something to give.”
Following the Daily Echo investigation, Mr Extance, who is organising the campaign to save Mr Emery’s job and home, has called on the couple to apologise.
He said: “I was absolutely mortified when I found out it was her. I’m appalled by what she has said.
“It’s horrendous, some of the stuff she’s been saying. She is belittling our whole campaign.
“This is a guy who’s supposed to be leader of his ward, a Cabinet member in charge of a multi-million pound portfolio, and yet his wife is posting stuff like this.
“They need to come out and apologise. Her husband is in a position where he’s supposed to be the voice of the people.”
Southampton Tory leader, Cllr Royston Smith, said: “People like Cllr Thorpe who are in public office should certainly be very careful with the way that they treat the public and what they say and do.”
