MP victim of internet hoax

16 August 2007

A state-of-the-art hoax has left a Norfolk MP seeing double after a “scurrilous” fake computer website was created about his political career and home life.

Norman Lamb was shocked to find that a false profile of himself had appeared on the Facebook internet site, which helps millions of people stay in touch with their friends.

Facebook has become a worldwide phenomenon with 28 million people regularly visiting the website to send messages to their colleagues and update them on what is happening in their lives.

Mr Lamb's doppelganger profile featured several pictures of the North Norfolk MP, including one with socialite Jemima Khan, and a list of the Liberal Democrats' achievements to date, although some entries were untrue and had false contact details.

And in another twist the internet hoax had an e-mail link to the MP's Conservative rival, Trevor Ivory, who on Tuesday strongly denied all knowledge of how the page was created.

Mr Lamb said: “I am feeling quite shocked by this disreputable impersonation of me and the mischievous attempt to misled the public.

“I have a challenging enough job without having to engage with this type of scurrilous behaviour. It is particularly worrying because it looks like someone has deliberately set out to discredit me.”

Mr Lamb became aware of the fake Facebook page about three weeks ago but he decided not to ask the company to remove it because he thought it was only being visited by “two or three fantasists or obsessives.”

However, the Liberal Democrats' headquarters decided to ask for the page to be finally deleted last week after a link to Trevor Ivory's website, with the headline “Looking Forward to the Next General Election,” appeared on the fabricated entry.

Mr Lamb said although there was no evidence that Mr Ivory or another Conservative had created the false site it did seem strange that a reference to his rivals should be appear on the counterfeit profile.

Mr Ivory sparked controversy last May after his own website said that people would be better off if Tony Blair killed himself.

He said: “I strongly condemn what has happened to Mr Lamb and I have written to him to say I had nothing whatsoever to do with it.”

Facebook was invited to comment but did not respond.