Conservative Party activists have accused Tory Mayoral Candidate Syed Kamall MEP of using improperly obtained personal details for his London Mayor bid. Breitbart London can reveal that party supporters have reported their concerns to Britain’s data regulator, the Information Commissioner.
Activists are claiming that despite never having signed up to Mr Kamall’s e-mail lists, their data has some how been added to his campaign lists, something which sources close to the Kamall campaign deny.
Mr Kamall, who looks to square off against Tory favourite Zac Goldsmith, wrote to his e-mail list yesterday, initially getting all recipients’ names incorrect, which led him to issue yet another e-mail apologising for the mistake.
But Tory supporters are more concerned about how they appeared on Mr Kamall’s e-mail lists in the first instance, with one writing on Facebook: “Questions: Why is Syed Kamall sending me emails? Did he get my email from a CCHQ database? Should he be using it for his Mayor bid? Why is he starting it ‘Dear Georgie’. CCHQ need to start monitoring candidates are following the rules.”
But a source close to Kamall’s campaign dismissed the notion, telling Breitbart London that the lists were not from CCHQ. When asked whether the lists were amassed from Kamall’s European Parliamentary office, using European taxpayer money to amass e-mail addresses and manage the lists, they responded, “Well there’s separate teams running all of these things now… In the same way Zac [Goldsmith]’s got a team that runs the Mayoral campaign”.
But more activists joined in the criticism after being told to simply unsubscribe from the list.
“Unsubscribing does not work. I tried it for 12 months,” said another, with a third adding, “I have never subscribed to his list either, so there is no way that I could have been on his list. CCHQ however had my details so I think it comes from there”.
Finally, another activist claimed to have received “text messages and emails constantly despite having requested not to be contacted.”
One of the Conservative Party members in question told Breitbart London: “I was sent a email by Syed Kamall calling me Georgie (it is not my name). I’ve never subscribed to his emails. I have never been to a event he has hosted or attended. I seem to have been added to Syed’s email list like many other people who where young party members and were on the Conservative Party email list in 2011.”
Kamall’s campaign denies any wrong doing, but it does seem that like elsewhere in the Conservative Party, the accumulation of data relating to activists and supporters is becoming a concern.
Breitbart London asked the Conservative Party and Mr Kamall’s campaign for comment. At the time of publication they had not replied, though we understand an investigation may be underway.
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