British Conservative MP Dominic Grieve has received death threats after leading a parliamentary rebellion that resulted in a parliamentary defeat for Theresa May on Brexit.
The former attorney general, who has reported the most serious incidents to the police, said such threats should have “no part in the political process of a democracy”.
Others among the 11 Conservative politicians who defied a three-line whip in order to secure a vote for MPs on the final Brexit deal have also faced pressure. Antoinette Sandbach said she had also received "oblique" death threats, including phrases such as "you'll get what's coming to you".
Yes. We put our country first exerting British principles of democracy and free speech. You should try it sometime. pic.twitter.com/qxZmOxE5MB
— Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) December 14, 2017
The MPs received the backing of the prime minister, with a senior government official insisting that Ms May felt “no politician should face intimidation or threats”.
Fintan O’Toole: UK voted for Brexit because citizens feel their country is ‘broken’. It can be fixed
Irish desire for close UK ties after Brexit not shared across EU - Varadkar
Irish in Britain: What are people saying about the Brexit talks?
Theresa May puts brave face on MPs’ ‘veto’ of final Brexit deal
It comes as Ms May’s team is considering how to avert a second parliamentary defeat next week over the question of an amendment enshrining the Brexit date in British law. Moves could be made to compromise over the issue, which has infuriated Tory rebels.
Mr Grieve told the Guardian he was disturbed by the atmosphere that had unfolded since the decision of the group to press the issue of the final deal in parliament.
“The thing that continues to cause me concern is not that people will disagree vigorously with the positions we take, but that the atmosphere is so febrile that it leads firstly to people not listening to what the debate is about, secondly suggests that any questions around Brexit amount to an intention to sabotage and, thirdly, results in some people expressing themselves in terms that at times include death threats,” he said.
‘Malcontents’
Mr Grieve also questioned the response of some newspapers to the vote, including a front-page story in the Daily Mail that claimed 11 Tory "self-consumed malcontents" had betrayed their leader, party and 17.4 million Brexit voters and had increased the "possibility of a Marxist in No 10".
"The form of reporting that the Daily Mail adopts is an incitement to obscuring what the issues actually are. That then adds to the atmosphere."
Ms Sandbach also named the newspaper, adding that the front page was now “lining my cat’s litter tray”.
Asked whether fellow MPs had chastised her, she said: “I haven’t had any comeback on it - but I won’t take lectures from people who have rebelled endless times in their careers.”
One terse response to the group came from Nadine Dorries MP, who said her colleagues ought to be deselected. However, others said Ms Dorries had voted against her party on dozens of occasions during previous administrations.
Other Conservative MPs who may have been minded to rebel chose not to, perhaps because of last-minute concessions, or pressure from party whips.
The prime minister made clear that while she was disappointed by the Commons defeat, she was still ready to deliver Brexit, stressing that this one loss followed 35 victories.
However, she could now face another difficult week in the Commons, with some pro-EU backbenchers furious about a government-backed amendment enshrining the date of Brexit into British law. - Guardian