Conservative MP Mike Freer's office firebombed on Christmas Eve Photo: Dinendra Haria/LNP
Rishi Sunak vows to 'deal with' intimidation faced by many MPs after Conservative MP Mike Freer announced he was resigning following death threats.
At the 1922 committee's centenary dinner in Thursday evening, the prime minister said he would also take action to address «the relationship posed by these threats.»
On Wednesday night Mr Freer, the Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green in north London, said he would not stand in the next election because of the intimidation he has received over his pro-Israel views. His Finchley office was firebombed on Christmas Eve.
On Friday, Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labor Party, said she was too scared to go out because of the threats.
Mr Sunak told MPs on Thursday evening: “I want to pay tribute to Mike Freer, a good minister and a dedicated constituency MP.”
“What Mike had to put up with is completely unacceptable. We have all chosen a life of public service, but that should not mean having to worry about our personal safety.
“I am determined to solve this problem, to deal with both the bullying that too many of you have to face, but also with the attitude from which these threats come.»
Police outside Mike Freer's office after the attack. Photo: Nigel Howard
Ms Rayner said she had been forced to give up public life due to fears for her safety and had instead asked people to visit her at home.
In an interview with Sky News, she warned of «constant abuse» against MPs represent «one of the biggest threats to our democracy» and have forced her to make adjustments in her life.
She said she was «very sad» to see Freer go, but «completely understands and appreciates» how the “drip violence” tired him.
The Deputy Leader of the Labor Party said that while she was not thinking about «getting it together» herself, she admitted she feared for her safety as an MP and said her family feared for her too.
“Absolutely yes, I have changed my behavior,” she said. host Beth Rigby. “I don’t go out, you know, I don’t have a social life. People want to see me, they come to my home. And you know, it really changes what you do. It affects my daily life.”
Ms Rayner admitted her family feared for her safety. Photo: DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
She recalled how scared she was when a group of pro-Palestinian protesters confronted her at a Labor Party event in Stockport last week, stressing that the murders of fellow MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Ames were «crushing on our minds «.
Footage posted on social media shows one man approaching Ms Rayner and shouting for a ceasefire, saying he lost his family in the Gaza Strip, while a woman calls from across the room: “What are you like?” feminist? Fifteen thousand women and children died, Angela Rayner, and you position yourself as a modern feminist. I don't think so.»
Reflecting on the incident, Ms Rayner said: «You just freeze. You know, people saw footage like, why was everyone just sitting there? People were scared. You know, they don't know what's going to happen.
“I'm not suggesting that these people were trying to threaten us… Often when the police talk to people who have insulted me or sent me threats, they are very apologetic.
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“But I think people need to understand that you can disagree with a Member of Parliament, no matter what political party he is, but there are constant threats and insults, and the fact that over the last couple of years we have had two of our colleagues were killed, this really weighs on us.
“And therefore, if you come to us screaming, we will be very scared of it.”
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