UNITED KINGDOM—Ah, the Daily Mail and its unshakeable obsession with porn. One of its latest editorial forays into the issue involves a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate for the Wythenshawe and Sale East Parliament seat in the upcoming by-election taking place February 13.
According to a Mail article published this weekend, "The UKIP candidate who could push the Tories into third place in a by-election this week is being backed by a bizarre figure who calls himself 'Lord Lust' and once appeared in a pornographic film.
"John Bickley," it continued, "who polls predict could come second to Labour in Thursday’s Wythenshawe and Sale East vote—has been nominated by the eccentric James Hadfield-Hyde, who starred in the adult movie Up At The Crack Of Dawn."
In addition to his porn past, the Mail tars Hadfield-Hyde as having "been described as ‘a cad, womaniser and bon vivant,’" who "purchased the title of Lord of the Manor of Alderley in the 1990s. He went on to host a late-night adult programme called Lord Lust’s Lovelies, in which he was surrounded by barely clothed models, before appearing in Up At The Crack Of Dawn."
To avoid any confusion. the article includes a tidbit from publicity material for the film that reads, ‘The country estate of Lord Lust is jam-packed with nude lovelies indulging in gentrified hanky-panky, from Susan the poacher to Vicky the portrait painter."
A UKIP spokesman responded tersely, "James presented a programme called Lord Lust’s Lovelies which was a Granada/Sky production on mainstream TV. No clothes were removed."
Not content to sully Bickley (pictured) via a supporter, the conservative paper added snarkily, "Mr. Bickley was himself managing director of a company, CIC Video, that distributed erotic titles such as Mandingo: A Story Of Forbidden Passion In The Deep South," including with the article the book cover (pictured) for Mandingo, the source material for the movie. which was producted by Dino De Laurentiis for Paramount.
The paper also accused Bickley, whose standing in the polls has increased over the past few weeks, leaving him currently in second place behind Labour in the final days before the election, of betraying the party's position that England should withdraw from the European Union by having previously accepted "nearly £100,000 from Brussels to prop up one of his firms."
Bickley responded to the claims by denying that "his stance on the EU grant is hypocritical because he was not a member of UKIP at the time he accepted the money" in 2006.
The Daily Mail adds that the UKIP is hoping that a strong showing in the upcoming by-election, and then again in the European elections in May, will "act as a springboard for next year’s General Election."
One thing the Daily Mail might want to keep in mind for future reference, however: one movie does not a 'porn star' make! At best, the occasional porn interloper should be called a "porn performer," or maybe even a "porn dabbler," but never "porn star," because despite the Dail Mail's refusal to acknowledge as much, the industry actually has established criteria for bonafide stardom, even if it's not written down anywhere.
