Rayner: I’m scared to leave home sometimes

As Tory MP steps down after death threats, Sunak pledges to tackle attitudes that lead to intimidation

RISHI SUNAK has vowed to “deal with” the intimidation that many MPs face after Mike Freer, Tory MP, said he was stepping down following death threats.

At a dinner to celebrate the centenary of the 1922 committee on Thursday night, the Prime Minister said he would also take action to target the “attitudes from which these threats emanate”.

Mr Freer revealed on Wednesday night that he would not contest the next election because of intimidation he has received over his pro-Israel views. On Christmas Eve his office in Finchley was firebombed. Yesterday, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said she is too scared to go out because of threats she has received as an MP.

Speaking on Thursday night, Mr Sunak told MPs: “I want to pay tribute to Mike Freer, a good minister and a dedicated constituency MP.

“It is completely unacceptable what Mike has had to put up with. We all chose a life of public service, but that should not mean having to worry about your own personal safety. I am determined to address this issue, to deal with both the intimidation that too many of you have to face but also the attitudes from which these threats emanate.”

Meanwhile Ms Rayner revealed she has been forced to abandon her social life out of concern for her safety, instead asking people to visit her at home.

In an interview with Sky News, she warned that the “constant abuse” directed at MPs poses “one of the biggest threats to our democracy”, and has led her to make adjustments in her own life. The deputy leader said she was “really sad” to see Mr Freer go, but could “totally understand and appreciate” how the “drip feed” of abuse had worn him down.

While she does not think about “packing in” herself, she admitted fearing for her safety as an MP – and said her family are scared for her too. Asked if she has had to change her behaviour, she said: “Absolutely, yeah, I have changed my behaviour. I don’t go out, you know, I don’t have a social life. People want to see me, they come to my house. And you know, it does change what you do. It has an impact on my day to day life.”

She recalled being frightened when a group of pro-Palestinian protesters confronted her at a Stockport Labour event last week, stressing that the murders of fellow MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess “weigh on our minds”.

Footage shared on social media shows one man approaching Ms Rayner and shouting about a ceasefire, saying he has lost his family in Gaza, while a woman calls from across the room: “What kind of feminist are you?”

Reflecting on the incident, Ms Rayner said: “You just, you freeze. You know, the footage people have seen is like, why did everyone just sit there? People were frightened. They don’t know what’s going to happen, you know.

“I’m not suggesting that those individuals were trying to threaten us… But I think what people need to understand is that you can disagree with a Member of Parliament, whichever political party they are, but that constant threats and abuse and the fact that we’ve had two of our colleagues murdered in the last couple of years, it does weigh on our minds.

“And therefore, if you do come at us shouting we are going to be quite frightened by it.”