Star can count on security after row
Countdown star Rachel Riley has said she is to be given extra security on the programme after receiving abuse online over her comments about anti-Semitism.
The TV presenter and maths expert said she had been targeted by Labour supporters on Twitter after criticising the party and leader Jeremy Corbyn amid the ongoing row.
Riley, who is Jewish, has already spoken about being trolled online but said the problem has worsened and includes physical threats.
She told a newspaper: “The more I speak, the more abuse I get, and the more abuse I get, the more I speak.
“It’s got to the point where I can’t look at my Twitter feed any more… it’s just a constant stream.”
She added: “We are getting more security for Countdown.”
Earlier this week, Riley told how she had received hate- f i l led abuse for speaking out about antiSemitism at the Holocaust Memorial Day reception at the House of Commons.
Riley said she is a “target” after speaking up against anti-Semitism and does not “take it lightly”.
She said: “They say to me, ‘ You’re only calling out the left.’ I’ve been attacked by people on the left and the best way to not have me talk about anti-Semitism on the left is not to be anti-Semitic.”
Corbyn has strongly denied a l legat ions of anti- Semitism during the controversy that has ripped through his party.