Teacher told my boy’s class not to speak to him because I’m a Tory MP
MPS tell Commons debate that abuse has hit ‘new level’, while others have been threatened with rape
A CONSERVATIVE backbencher has revealed the teacher of his 13-year-old son told classmates not to speak to him because his father is a Tory MP.
Colonel Bob Stewart, a former Commander of United Nations Forces in Bosnia, said four of his “resilient” children had been hassled at school as a result of his career.
The Beckenham MP, who was first elected in 2010, said such behaviour was “taken to a new level” during the general election when his son’s teacher singled him out in front of his class.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate on the level of abuse MPS received during the election, he said: “All my four children have been hassled by other kids in their local schools because of the job of their father.
“There’s little that can be done about that because they’re children, and my kids are robust enough to withstand it.
“But such behaviour is taken to a new level when during the last general election a teacher tells the class of my 13-year-old boy that nobody should talk to him because he’s the son of a Conservative MP.”
Col Stewart was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his military service in Northern Ireland and Bosnia.
Sarah Newton, a Home Office minister, responded that it was a “deeply upsetting” and “simply unacceptable” incident. She said: “Those people in a position of authority and influence, such as a teacher, should be supporting and upholding the shared values of our country, and it’s most disappointing to hear somebody in such a powerful and influential position letting themselves down and letting their profession down.”
The school in Kent said it was taking the matter “very seriously” and hoped to meet with Mr Stewart “very soon”.
It came as Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, revealed during a live appearance on ITV’S Good Morning Britain that she had been called a “n----- bitch” by trolls on Twitter.
Describing how she had received rape and death threats, she said: “When we discovered that we were getting half of these abusive tweets it was really quite frightening.
“And when I say abuse it’s not people saying ‘I disagree with you about nationalising the railways’, it’s people calling you a ‘n----- bitch’, it’s people threatening acid attacks, it’s rape, it’s death threats.”
It comes after Theresa May launched an investigation into the “horrific and shocking” abuse suffered by parliamentary candidates after a wave of intimidation during the election campaign. The committee on standards in public life is currently investigating intimidation of MPS and is due to report back before the end of the year.
Labour and the Conservatives have each accused the other of failing to act to stamp out abuse by their members and activists after reports of racism, anti-semitism and sexism.
An ally of Jeremy Corbyn was accused during yesterday’s debate on abuse of the “worst” behaviour a Tory MP had seen during an election.
Pauline Latham condemned the campaign of Chris Williamson, who retook the Derby North seat from Amanda Solloway.
Mrs Latham said that Mrs Solloway had been subjected to false accusations online and “vile abuse” on social media. She said weeks before the election a Facebook page appeared calling itself “unauthorised Amanda Solloway”.
Christine Jardine, a Lib Dem MP, described how she was subjected to a “mindless” and “vindictive attack” on the day of her husband’s funeral.
She said she was accused of breaking the pause in campaigning during the general election following the Manchester terror attack when she was instead burying her husband.
Last night, Nadine Dorries, a Tory MP, called for George Osborne to have his Tory Conference pass taken away after he reportedly said he wanted Mrs May “chopped up” in his freezer.