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Copyright 2004 NewsQuest Media Group Limited
UK Newsquest Regional Press - This is Local London

October 14, 2004

HEADLINE: Fancy a gamble or viagra? Then go to Lib Dem website

BYLINE: Steve Wrelton

BODY:
    Members of the Sutton Liberal Democrat Party were left fuming this week after it emerged their website had been "hijacked" by advertisers offering online poker games and cheap viagra.

    People logging onto the website www.suttonlibdems.co.uk receive information not about the policies and progress of the borough's Lib Dem councillors and MPs but on a range of sites peddling the latest versions of electronic poker and cut price bottles of the 21st century wonder sex drug.

    The news has been greeted with glee by opposition politicians who have taken the opportunity to crack a joke or two at the expense of their Lib Dem counterparts.

    Leading members of the party including its chairman John Drage and MP for Carshalton and Wallington Tom Brake said they were furious about the situation which appears to have happened after their website name was sold onto another company.

    Mr Drage said: "Like many organisations we use a website to keep people informed of our activities.

    "We have to pay an annual fee to keep the name of the website but despite us paying the bill our website hosts did not pass the fee on.

    "We are absolutely furious the website name has been hijacked' and sold on to a company that advertises online gambling."

    Mr Drage said the party had taken advice on the matter but the party was unlikely to be able to recover the website name.

    The party is now in the process of setting up a new website which should be up and running in the next few days.

    Commenting on the discovery Mr Brake said there seemed to be a loophole in current legislation which he would be raising at Westminster.

    He said while it was "very annoying" for the Lib Dems for a small business it could make the difference between survival and bankruptcy if it could not do business via its website.

    He added: "I intend to raise this matter in the House of Commons to see whether legislation can be strengthened to stop this happening in the future."

    Conservative parliamentary candidate for Carshalton and Wallington Ken Andrew said: "Clearly someone thought a pill a day would keep the Lib Dems away."

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