Jewish MP has staff prepare for attack by anti-Semites

A JEWISH MP has told his staff what to do if there is an attempt on his life after he experienced a sharp rise in antiSemitic abuse, has been told.

Tory MP Andrew Percy said that he has had several conversations with his staff about “potential risks” that have arisen alongside conflict between Israel and Hamas.

This newspaper has spoken to Jewish MPs across parties about the antisemitism that they have faced in recent months ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day today.

Labour MPs Charlotte Nichols and Dame Margaret Hodge said that they have had to change their security arrangements substantially.

Dame Margaret Hodge has

‘I’ve spoken with my team about the risks, telling them what they should do if someone tries to off me’

increased the number of plain-clothes police officers at her constituency meetings, with some constituents having become “hostile” to her for the first time. Ms Nichols said that she “basically can’t go anywhere alone anymore” and that “everything feels a lot more edgy right now”.

Mr Percy said: “I’ve spoken with my team about the potential risks arising from the current conflict. I’ve tried to keep the conversation a bit lighthearted, telling people what to remember or what they should do if somebody tries to off me.”

Mr Percy and Dame Margaret both gave poetry readings at a candle-lighting ceremony held in Parliament this week to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Mr Percy said that discussions with his staff about potential attacks included his “private preferences as to what I would like to happen”, but declined to detail specific arrangements made.