Louise Mensch accused of bullying 17-year-old #Milifandom leader Abby Tomlinson
People such as John Prescott have defended the Ed Miliband fandom leader
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Louise Mensch has been criticised for what many people believe is "bullying" behaviour towards the 17-year-old girl who became famous for her love of Ed Miliband.
Abby Tomlinson, who was the main force behind the #Milifandom movement before the General Election, has been accused by Mensch, 43, of not being the "real founder" of the fleetingly popular hashtag.
Mensch - a former Tory MP who now lives in New York - has for whatever reason taken a keen interest in who the "real" brains were behind amalgamating the words "Miliband" and "fandom" and has made it her personal crusade to find out.
Best General Election 2015 quotes
Show all 10The Sun columnist has threatened to write a blog post about how Tomlinson apparently nicked the idea off another teenager, as well as a column about Tomlinson.
Tomlinson and Mensch have blocked each other, but plenty of people are pitching in to defend the teenage campaigner.
John Prescott has argued that Mensch's behaviour is tantamount to harassment as Tomlinson has asked to be left alone by Mensch.
The recent argument was sparked after Tomlinson said she had reported The Sun for the way her family were treated when news organisations tried to uncover her identity. It is not yet clear to whom the paper has been reported and for what.
She tweeted:
Tomlinson has plenty of supporters on Twitter.
Mensch has argued that the distinction between criticism and bulling has not been properly observed and denies that she has bullied Tomlinson.
When reached for comment by The Independent, The Sun's head of PR Dylan Sharpe said that the paper was not responsible for tweets posted by their columnists, and declined to comment on the matter.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments