Appearing on the same programme, Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox, said there was a “real risk” that high levels of intimidation could slowly undermine democracy.
“Democracy doesn’t die in a flash – its not always a coup d’état, it can die by a thousand cuts.”
He said the election had seen a “real increase in the levels of intimidation”.
“Having spoken to lots of MPs about it, there was a sense that something had changed, that they felt hunted, that they felt unable to go about campaigning.”
“Let’s be clear, this isn’t just about one community. It’s not just about people that are pro-Gaza.
“Whether it was around the Scottish referendum or the Brexit referendum, I think there is something more caustic in our democratic culture which means that intimidation of MPs… is being seen as more legitimate by a wider range of courses.”
Last week, the government’s adviser on political violence Lord Walney suggested there could have been a “concerted campaign by extremists to create a hostile atmosphere for MPs within their constituencies to compel them to cave into political demands”.
Lord Walney – who was a Labour MP before being appointed to the House of Lords by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson – urged the government to investigate whether groups in different areas were working together and to document the “dark underbelly” of abuse.
Speaking to the Guardian, he said there was a pattern of abuse “created by aggressive pro-Palestine activists”.
Responding to his interview with the newspaper, Labour MP Diane Abbott said: “This is just a crude effort to demonise all those who support Palestinian rights.”
Reports /Trainviral/
