Man held over ‘death threat’ to MP Bryant
A PENSIONER was arrested on suspicion of sending an MP a death threat the day after Sir David Amess was killed in a suspected terror attack.
Labour MP Chris Bryant was targeted after he posted on Twitter that people should consider being kinder in the wake of the tragedy.
The incident lays bare the abuse and threats faced by elected members every day.
Details of the arrest came as MPs shared experiences of receiving death threats as they grappled with the second murder of a colleague in five years.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab described at least three threats to “life and limb” in the past two years, with the latest being an acid attack.
Protection
Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday said a review of policing for politicians is “concluding in the next few days” and pledged to update MPs. They will also be contacted by police who are offering protection, advice and reassurance on safety.
But Mr Raab said protection such as stab proof vests at constituency meetings would be unlikely to work because they would just be “threatened with something else”. He told Good Morning Britain yesterday there was an “intervention” in relation to the threatened acid attack.
Meanwhile, Mr Bryant, MP for Rhondda, said he was targeted after his plea for kindness.
South-Wales Police confirmed a 76-year-old from Pontycymer, in Bridgend, was arrested on suspicion of malicious communications.
Under the Government’s new Online Harms Bill, social media and tech companies will face fines if they do not take down harmful content posted online.
Ms Patel has also suggested companies could be forced to stop users setting up anonymous social media accounts.
Mr Bryant, who revealed he has faced abuse ever since becoming an MP in 2001, said: “I got back on Saturday and the first message in my inbox was this death threat, pretty clear, so I notified the police and they have taken action.”
MPs are frustrated by the difficulties police face in following up anonymous death threats made on social media.
Labour MP Diane Abbott said: “When I have been the victim of racialised and threatening attacks online and reported them to the police, often they have been unable to investigate because of the current rules on anonymity.”
Yvette Cooper’s former parliamentary adviser Jade Botterill said the Labour MP had received around 50 death threats each week, saying they had become “normalised” in the duties expected of MPs’ staff.
Menacing
She said: “I feel like 20 to 30 hours a week was spent reporting death threats, giving statements to the police and impact statements to the court hearings. It really did change my role.”
SNP MP Joanna Cherry said she once required a police escort to her constituency surgery due to a credible death threat.
On another occasion a constituent “behaved in such a menacing and threatening manner” she and her office manager “pushed all the furniture against the door while we waited for police to arrive”.
Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill revealed that she once had to remove an uninvited person from her home.
The Sinn Fein politician said: “That is not acceptable for anyone to have to deal with.”