THE electorate may well exclaim "By George" on hearing Wyre Forest Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate Mark Simpson's first name.

Mr Simpson revealed his forename to be George after MP David Lock mocked his logging-on to the Labour man's website last Friday.

Mr Lock presumed his rival was trying to avoid detection by using the name George.

However, Mr Simpson confirmed it to be his first name - in line with a long family tradition.

Mr Lock had said: "I would be delighted to let Mark Simpson know how Labour is working to improve Wyre Forest.

"What's in a name? He is known as 'Mark' Simpson - so why sign up as George?

"This has echoes of the Oscar Wilde farce The Importance of Being Ernest (sic).

"Did he really think we wouldn't notice? I think Wyre Forest voters will not be very impressed by a candidate who acts in this way."

Mr Simpson retorted: "My name is George Mark Simpson. I was brought up to be called George and any official documents I sign as George Simpson.

"I think there are much more important things to worry about. People in Wyre Forest are more concerned about the real issues, which they can see on my website!

"I logged on to David Lock's website because I understood it had been updated - after one-and-a-half minutes I logged off."

Mr Simpson, who has a four-year-old son - called George - added: "If David Lock wants to know what's in a name maybe he should ask why Tony Blair is not called Anthony and Jack Straw, John.

"As for having echoes of an Oscar Wilde farce I find it very surprising that an MP who seems to like this kind of fiction can't correctly spell the title of a classic piece of English literature."