10 UK lawmakers admit fearing for their safety amid abuse over pro-Israel views

Conservative MP Mike Freer resigned in late December after his office was attacked by an arsonist.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Ten members of the UK Parliament told Reuters they feared for their safety after receiving relentless harassment and abuse for supporting Israel.

One MP said they faced a full 10-minute barrage of verbal abuse, including being called a “genocide enabler” and being told they had “blood on their hands.”

The Opposition Labour Party member said he now limits his meetings with the public and always makes sure he is seated next to a door in public.

Some MPs said they were considering installing safe rooms and wearing stab-proof vests.

The UK’s Interior Ministry is beefing up protection for lawmakers with 31 million pounds ($39 million) spent on security provisions that would keep “democratic processes from disruption.”

In the UK, extremist violence has claimed the lives of two lawmakers, one in 2016 and another in 2021 to an adherent of the Islamic State terrorist group.

Conservative MP Mike Freer, who represented London’s Jewish neighborhoods of Golders Green and Finchley, resigned in late December after his office was attacked by an arsonist.

Freer said that he was being targeted for his pro-Israel views and soon after announced his resignation from Parliament.

Freer has been a staunch supporter of Israel’s military operation to eliminate Hamas following the October 7th massacre and served in Parliament since 2010.

In 2014, he resigned as Parliamentary secretary so he could vote against the resolution to recognize Palestine as a state.

In 2021, police informed Freer that he was being stalked by Ali Harbi Ali, who afterward killed MP David Amess and vowed to murder other Tory politicians.

Freer said he was “always worried if I’m going to come home each night,” and that his husband “always wants to make sure he picks me up from the tube after work, he doesn’t like me walking home alone.”

He noted that just a few days before the arson attack, Freer received a message saying he was “the kind of person who ought to be set alight.”

“I think obviously because I have such strong views on the Middle East, and I’m pro-Israel, this has led me to become a target,” Freer said.