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Regional daily uncovers parish councillor escort claims

A regional newspaper was the first to publish claims that a parish councillor had appeared on an adult website advertising her services as an escort.

Jason Lavan, a reporter at the MNA Media daily title the Shropshire star, was tipped off that parish councillor Nicola Holmes had a profile on an adult website where her services were advertised for £150 an hour.

When he logged onto the site he saw a picture of Labour councillor Nicola Holmes, who sits on Great Dawley Parish Council in Telford, in a corset and underwear under the heading “38E busty brunette for your enjoyment.”

Jason then contacted her through the site to arrange a meeting at a Telford hotel but her profile, which stated that it had been up since March, was taken down before they got chance to meet.

The story appeared on the front page of the paper under the headline ‘Councillor In Escort claims.’

The story was later picked up by national newspaper The Sun.

However Cllr Holmes told the Star the website was ‘disgusting’ and had nothing to do with her.

Said Jason: “I found out about the story from a contact of mine and decided to investigate the website.

“I discovered pictures of Councillor Holmes topless and wearing only a corset and underwear.

“Obviously, I wanted to make sure it was her using the website, so I arranged a meeting with her in a hotel in Telford and the booking was confirmed to meet.

“But wind of the story got out and the webpage with her details was removed within hours of me making the booking.

“I visited her home on three occasions to give her the best opportunity to reply and she has denied working as an escort.

“Since publishing the story, we have not heard from Cllr Holmes or anyone else regarding the article.”

Cllr Holmes, who has already been suspended from Telford’s Labour Party Group due to a separate matter, was formerly the parish council’s vice-chairman and won her seat last May as a Labour councillor. She claimed someone else had put her pictures on the site.

The Labour Party in the West Midlands has launched an investigation.

4 comments

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  • August 18, 2011 at 12:40 pm
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    The councillor has said that the website was nothing to do with her. If it had been, why does the Shropshire Star feel the need to tell the world about what a councillor is doing outside her role as councillor? Don’t people have private lives?

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  • August 18, 2011 at 12:55 pm
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    Only a parish councillor for heavens sake, she hardly stalks the corridors of power does she. bit of a non-story IMHO

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  • August 18, 2011 at 3:32 pm
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    If David Cameron’s vision is for a Big Society then perhaps we should refrain from poking fun at this country’s estimated 80,000 sex workers who might want to contribute back to their communities?
    Personally I’d rather like to be represented by an escort than some of the poe faced, hoity toity miscreants of society that have represented me in the past

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  • August 18, 2011 at 4:24 pm
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    A non-story lensman? If a half-naked parish councillor on an adult website doesn’t constitute a story for a local paper, then I’m not sure what does. I’m sure it was a topic of conversation in most Shropshire boozers the day the Star published it.

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