POLITICIANS DETAIL THE TOLL OF RELENTLESS ABUSE
MP reveals fear stalker’s threats will escalate to violence as women in politics disclose the everyday outrage of abuse and harassment
An MP who suffered months of harassment from a serial abuser of women in public life has told how she feared for her life and warned his behaviour is becoming increasingly alarming.
Lisa Cameron spoke out amid escalating alarm at the abuse, intimidation and threats endured by women in public life. Today, in a series of reports, we detail the scandalous level of abuse and rising concern as Scottish party leaders unite in condemning the sexism and misogyny driving the abuse and pledged zero tolerance in the forthcoming Holyrood elections in May. Cameron, a clinical psychologist, called for her abuser to be placed on a psychiatric treatment order after he was convicted
of harassing her, warning his offending may become even more serious if left unchecked. Brian Mckerrow was convicted of threatening another politician seven years ago and Cameron believes he must now be stopped. The Lanarkshire MP endured a campaign of harassment inflicted by Mckerrow, a plumber who claims to be a father’s rights campaigner, but the abuse left the politician at breaking point when, armed with a megaphone, Mckerrow turned up at her office last year, accusing her of covering up institutional child abuse. The SNP MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow said: “It was the final straw after months of increasingly heated emails and calls. It started the year before when he approached me asking for help but I eventually had to report him to the police and then discovered he’d been targeting other female politicians. “The incident left me in tears. I was badly shaken and suffered dark fears over what happened to my parliamentary colleague Jo Cox, murdered in the street while doing her job.” Cox, 41, the Labour MP for West Yorkshire, was killed in the weeks before the Brexit referendum in 2016 by a farright extremist, prompting a nationwide outcry and increased security for politicians.
Cameron is the latest in a long line of women politicians to have suffered threats, abuse or to have been stalked as a result of their job. Earlier this month a survey by Holyrood magazine found nearly half of female MSPS had received death threats – while the figure for all MSPS was one-third. Threats of sexual violence were received by 29% of females but none by male colleagues. MP Joanna Cherry has said she was sent a serious threat to her personal safety on the day she was axed from the SNP’S Westminster front-bench team. She reported the alleged incident to the police and a 30year-old man has since been charged. The MP had previously received a death threat that led to her been given a police escort to her constituency surgery. Research suggests she is the second most-abused female MP on social media, after Labour’s Diane Abbott, who also received racist abuse.
In 2019, Heidi Allan revealed she was standing down as a Lib Dem MP, saying she was: “Exhausted by the invasion into my privacy and the nastiness and intimidation that has become commonplace”, while Luciana Berger was forced to hire security guards while working as a Labour MP. A number of men have been convicted for offences related to threatening abuse towards women politicians in Scotland and England. Mckerrow pleaded not guilty to stalking, but took a reduced charge plea deal at Hamilton Sheriff Court earlier this month and will be sentenced on April 1 after background reports.
Six years ago, Mckerrow, 49, was sentenced to 300 hours’ community service for stalking MSP Christina Mckelvie. Cameron said: “My final confrontation with Mckerrow was deeply disturbing. I felt trapped in my office, terrified, as he ranted and raved over his megaphone making increasingly disturbing accusations that were untrue and deeply upsetting.
“It reminded me of patients I’d seen at Carstairs State Hospital. There was no reasoning with him. I had an elderly disabled constituent in the office with me, and had to find a way to get us out safely.”
Two police officers rescued the women, but Cameron, who gave evidence to the court from behind a screen, said: “As a clinical psychologist I’m very aware just what can happen when people lose control.
“Brian Mckerrow’s disturbing behaviour was clearly escalating and I sincerely hope the court will find a way of forcing him to have treatment.
“I have two young children. They would have been terrified if he’d turned up at our home and behaved like that.” Action Against Stalking’s CEO Ann Moulds, whose 10-year campaign led to stalking being recognised as crime, said: “It’s deeply disappointing that, more than 10 years on, the Scottish courts and criminal justice system is still not treating this kind of behaviour with the seriousness it deserves. “Unless steps are taken to effectively address behaviour like this, it will simply continue and escalate. Behaviour of this kind has a profoundly damaging effect on victims who often, like I had to when it happened to me, uproot their whole lives to escape.
“It’s unacceptable stalking still isn’t recognised by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority because it insists there’s no physical injury despite the devastating psychological injuries victims endure.” In 2014, Mckerrow was convicted at the same court of threatening SNP MSP Christina Mckelvie. Mckerrow had wanted her help in getting access to his children but erupted in fury at Mckelvie and her office staff when told she could not help. At the time, the MSP said: “I have never been as unnerved as I have been with Mckerrow. At one point he told me that he knew people in the military who would sort us out.”
She told The Sunday Post: “It is important that the courts take incidents like this very seriously. Intimidation, threats and abuse – even if confined to online only – have serious and damaging consequences in real life. “The pressure myself and my office team were placed under due to the harassment from Mckerrow was totally unacceptable.
“As a society, we wonder why more young women hesitate to get involved in politics on one hand and then treat this kind of abuse as part and parcel of being a female politician. The authorities must continue to demonstrate that such behaviour will simply not be tolerated.”