MPs report sharp rise in online abuse over immigration debate

Level of harassment and death threats described as 'worse than Brexit'

- Hannah Al-Othman Aletha Adu Kiran Stacey

MPs have raised the alarm about a rise in abuse linked to debates about immigration, with some reporting higher levels of online harassment and death threats than during the Brexit years.

The warning came after a weekend of protests and counter-protests at hotels used to house asylum seekers, with 15 people arrested on Saturday and demonstrations continuing yesterday.

One female member of parliament, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Guardian that this weekend she had reported an online rape threat linked to her support for asylum seekers to the police.

Shipley's Labour MP, Anna Dixon, also said she had received death threats after the Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, Robbie Moore, posted "misleading" information about her stance on grooming gangs.

"The lambasting we are all getting on social media and in the inbox is grim, from both sides," Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour MP for Gower, said.

"It's like we can't do right for doing wrong and everything has become frighteningly polarised.

"Very few people see us as the individual humans that we are, especially women, mums, sisters, daughters, and it's really changed since I came into the House. It's worse than Brexit. In fact I could cope with that better."

Another veteran Labour MP backed up her comments, saying in their experience, hostility towards politicians was worse now than it had ever been.

The Green party co-leader and MP for Bristol Central Carla Denyer said the abuse she is sent has become "noticeably worse" in the last few months, "escalating in some cases to violent threats", which she has reported to the police.

"As a leftwing and queer woman MP who speaks up frequently in support of refugees and LGBTIQA+ issues, I attract a lot of misogynist and homophobic abuse," she said.