MP calls police after fake Twitter account is set up in her name
AN MP was forced to call the police amid growing safety fears after a ‘sinister’ social media account was set up in her name.
Dr Lisa Cameron has been the target of vile online abuse and faced deselection threats.
On Friday evening she contacted Police Scotland over concerns for herself, family and staff when a fake Twitter account was set up in her name.
The profile appeared online minutes after Dr Cameron gave up her ‘MP’ account to begin campaigning in the General Election and she now fears someone could be ‘monitoring’ her.
She said: ‘It’s been an anxietyprovoking few days.
The East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow MP faced abuse and feared deselection this year after voting against the liberalisation of abortion rights in Northern Ireland.
Nationalist Dr Cameron cited her experience of miscarriage and her religious views for her anti-abortion stance and later hit out at an ‘intolerance’ within the SNP for religion.
She has also raised concerns that she is the victim of a ‘smear’ campaign as she believes people in her party are spreading ‘lies’ about her.
Speaking yesterday, Dr Cameron said she was growing increasingly worried that she is being targeted by someone in her community.
She said: ‘Could it be someone local or someone who has been abusive before?’
Dr Cameron was in her office on Friday evening when she decided to change her Twitter profile ahead of her General Election campaigning. She changed her social media handle from ‘@drlisacameronmp’ to ‘@ drlisacameron’. Within minutes a new account had been set up with her old profile name.
The account claimed that Dr Cameron is a ‘Career-lover. Property mogul. Keen traveller. Human Being’. It used a cartoon image of a woman with blonde hair.
Dr Cameron said: ‘It caused a lot of upset on Friday night. I took off my MP account and within the space of half an hour this new account had been set up in my name, with the Twitter handle I’d just changed from. I worried that this account could start saying things which people then believe is me during an election campaign.
‘This has obviously been done to cause upset and distress. It has made me feel vulnerable.’
Dr Cameron said she contacted Police Scotland at just after 5pm on Friday evening.
After contacting Twitter’s managing director Dara Nsar, the company suspended the account and is now investigating. Earlier this year a Twitter troll was ordered to stay away from Dr Cameron and was issued a non-harassment order.
Yesterday Police Scotland said: ‘Officers were contacted on Friday, November 1, following a report that a social media page was impersonating an individual.
‘The social media provider was contacted to resolve the issue and suitable advice was given.
‘No criminality was established and no further police action required.’
‘It has made me feel vulnerable’