THREE men have been convicted for “threatening behaviour” towards an SNP MP, it has emerged.
Kirsty Blackman, MP for Aberdeen North, said since her election in 2015 the three different cases had made it to court.
There have been further instances of abuse that did not meet the police threshold, the parliamentarian revealed on Twitter.
Blackman made the comments amid heightened conversations around online abuse of politicians in the wake of the killing of Sir David Amess.
“Being an MP attracts hatred, anger and threats,” Blackman said in a thread this morning. “This should not be the case.
“It’s not safe to be an MP, but it is important that people are represented, and that they can speak to their representatives. It’s a tough balance to strike.”
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Blackman said she didn’t have solutions to the problem besides continuing legal action against perpetrators and reviewing security.
“I’ve said previously that the very last thing I want is for my children to go to school and catch sight of a newspaper reporting on threats to their mum, or to have other parents or teachers mention it,” the MP added.
Blackman’s intervention comes after MP Joanna Cherry revealed yesterday that she had thought about quitting politics due to “unrelenting attacks” on her.
Writing for the Daily Record, the QC suggested politicians return to dealing with constituents online or via phone as they did during lockdown.
However, she added: “We must not let the bullies win.
“Our democracy is at stake.”
Earlier yesterday another SNP MP, Glasgow North West representative Carol Monaghan, spoke of her experience with online abuse.
This summer a 35-year-old man admitted to harassing Monaghan. She had to be moved to a police safe house after receiving a death threat.
"When you have threats made against you it takes you to a very dark place and you start questioning the reasons why you are doing this particular job,” the MP said.
"I'm not saying there isn't a place for face-to-face surgeries but I think we have to be careful about being utterly accessible at all times.”
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