House of Keys candidate denies wrongdoing over charity logo and manifesto reference

Glenfaba and Peel General Election candidate Colleen Dale-Beeton has hit back at what she describes as a campaign of ‘deliberate’ attacks and anonymous posts, after confirming she was the candidate involved in two recent charity-related election controversies.

Mrs Dale-Beeton, who is standing against seven other candidates in the constituency, has issued a statement after Manx National Heritage (MNH) confirmed it had contacted an election candidate over the inadvertent use of its logo on campaign material.

MNH stressed that it is an independent, apolitical registered charity and does not endorse or support individual political candidates.

It said: ‘We have been in contact with an election candidate who has inadvertently used the Manx National Heritage logo on their campaign materials.

‘To make sure that everyone is aware ahead of the election - Manx National Heritage is an independent apolitical registered charity, and we would not endorse or support individual political candidates.’

Mrs Dale-Beeton has now confirmed that she was the candidate involved.

She said she had used a third-party company to supply and print envelopes for her campaign and had asked for a purple Three Legs of Mann design because purple was her campaign colour.

‘I merely asked for a purple three legs of man on my envelopes,’ she said.

‘That’s it - not skullduggery - no brand association. It was out of my control and the company involved have spoken with Manx National Heritage and the matter as far as I know has been dealt with.’

She added: ‘I clearly would like to apologise to Manx National Heritage on a personal level as this matter was entirely out of my hands.’

Mrs Dale-Beeton has also confirmed she was the prospective MHK referred to by The Shared Table earlier this summer.

The Peel initiative had asked election candidates not to use its name in political campaigns, manifestos or promotional material without speaking to organisers first.

The Shared Table, which provides free community meals, stressed that it was ‘completely non-political’ and did not endorse candidates.

Mrs Dale-Beeton said she had never claimed to have any involvement in, or credit for, the initiative.

She said her original online manifesto had described The Shared Table as a ‘prime example’ of the continuing strength of community in Peel.

‘Clearly not claiming credit but entirely praising it as one way in which our community is still thriving in Peel,’ she said.

She said the reference was removed from the manifesto as soon as it was brought to her attention.

Mrs Dale-Beeton’s statement also addressed what she described as personal attacks during the election campaign.

‘In recent days I have been deliberately libelled, defamed and attacked by anonymous posters (cowards) and fake profiles that have stated certain untruths about me personally and my campaign,’ she said.

‘It’s a shame and saddens me that people acting on behalf of others feel the necessity to do this.’

She called for anonymous trolling of herself and other candidates to stop and said she was willing to address concerns directly.

‘I don’t hide behind any anonymity and anyone can contact me directly to clarify any issues they may have,’ she said.

Since Mrs Dale Beeton’s statement, The Shared Table has responded, stressing that it had not attacked Mrs Dale-Beeton or made anonymous posts about her.

A spokesperson said the organisation had raised its concerns openly and under their own name, as one of the people who founded and runs the initiative.

They said: ‘The Shared Table has never attacked Colleen, posted anonymously, used fake profiles or lied about her.’

They added that the organisation’s concern was simply that it was ‘deliberately non-political’ and should not be used in political campaigning or a manifesto.

The spokesperson said Mrs Dale-Beeton had not attended The Shared Table or been involved with the project when its name appeared in her campaign material, adding that the reference was subsequently removed and, ‘as far as we were concerned, that was the end of the matter’.

They said questioning campaign material was not the same as ‘trolling, defamation or an attack’ and that people should be able to raise legitimate concerns with prospective representatives.

The Shared Table said it wished Mrs Dale-Beeton ‘the very best’ with her campaign and that its door remained open for her to attend a meal, meet volunteers and guests and see the work it does.

However, the spokesperson said: ‘Please don’t publicly create the impression that those of us who raised this particular concern were hiding behind anonymity, spreading lies or attacking you.

‘We put our names to what we said, explained exactly why we were unhappy, and asked for one thing, that The Shared Table remain outside of politics. That position hasn’t changed.’

Voters will go to the polls on September 24 to elect 24 Members of the House of Keys.

- The other candidates standing for Glenfaba and Peel include Katryna Baptist, Mark Cleator, Daniel Davison, James Hampton, Raymond Harmer, Alexander Perriam and Geoffrey Pugh.