Mike Freer, Justice Minister and Conservative MP for the north London constituency of Finchley and Golders Green,who has faced a series of death threats and was targeted by Ali Harbi Ali – the man who stabbed Southend West MP Sir David Amess to death in 2021- has announced his intention to step down at the next election over fears for his safety.
“There comes a point when the threats to your personal safety become too much,” he told the Daily Mail.
Both Mr Freer and Sir David Amess were reported to be targetted for their pro-Israel views. Neither are jewish.
The Daily Mail reported that the MP and his staff started wearing stab vests at scheduled public events in his constituency after learning that Ali had watched his Finchley office before killing Sir David at a constituency surgery. The MP’s office has suffered an arson attack last month and molotov cocktails have been found on its steps in the past.
There has been a campaign of intimidation and violence waged against him by certain muslim groups.
One such group, Muslims against Crusades (MAC) was banned after threatening to stab Mr Freer, a gay man.
From Melanie Philips’ substack:
Ten years previously, Freer was targeted by the group Muslims against Crusades (which was later banned). It posted online a picture of Freer with the message “Let Stephen Timms be a warning to you”. In 2010 Timms, a Labour MP, had been stabbed in his constituency surgery by an al Qaeda supporter.
When members of Muslims against Crusades burst into an event that Freer was holding in a mosque, one said he was “a Jewish homosexual pig defiling the house of Allah”. In subsequent years, Freer was targeted with numerous threats, abusive notes were stuck on his car and mock petrol bombs were left on the steps of his constituency office. The last straw was a suspected arson attempt on his office last December which Freer believes was also motivated by his views.
It is not known if there was ever a prosecution against members of the MAC for hate speech or death threats.
However there was glee at the resignation expressed by a Labour councillor on social media though she later apologised to anyone “who was offended” by her original post. In other words, it was a non-apology.
https://x.com/IncMonocle/status/1752821885757223418?s=20
It is a sad day for the United Kingdom when even the Justice Minister is not assured of his safety and muslim intimidation keeps winning.
https://twitter.com/BellaWallerstei/status/1753347988661940677
h/t Larkers and Alang
