Pro-Remain Tory MP calls on police to stop Nazi taunts
A prominent Conservative MP who supports Remain calls on the Metropolitan Police to stop extremists from calling her a “Nazi’’.
A prominent Conservative politician has called on the Metropolitan Police to stop extremists from calling her a “Nazi’’ and harassing her, which has included abuse during live television broadcasts.
Anna Soubry, 62, said: “See what this country has become,’’ as pro-Brexit protesters, believed to be linked to far-right groups, chanted: “Soubry is a Nazi,’’ while she was conducting a live interview on the BBC.
Ms Soubry, a former defence minister and Remainer who has called for a second referendum to break the current Brexit deadlock interrupted the interview to say: “I do object to being called a Nazi actually. I’m sorry but I just think this is astonishing.”
The protesters did not let up when Ms Soubry was then interviewed on Sky News, with chants of “liar, liar’’ heard in the background.
Both pro-Remain and pro-Brexit groups have set up camps on Abington Green, a park near to Westminster where television networks have elevated temporary stages so that politicians can be interviewed with Westminster and Big Ben in the background. The activists have even taken to holding up various placards on four metre high sticks to try and get their messages seen on the television broadcast. But the harassment of the politicians and journalists appears to be led by a small handful of people wearing yellow safety jackets, mirroring the French grassroots gilet jaune movement.
A phone recording shows one of the men — linked to the far right activist Tommy Robinson — had heckled Ms Soubry arriving at parliament and then followed her after her interviews shouting abuse.
Ms Soubry told Sky News: “I don’t have a problem with people demonstrating and making their views heard. I have a real problem with people who call me a traitor, or ‘Soubry, you Nazi’. That is a criminal offence and I’m a criminal barrister.”
She added: “I’m told that we should get used to it, but we shouldn’t have to. Apparently it’s democracy in action and the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] believe that no offences are being committed”.
However Ms Soubry then referred to how journalists and TV camera operators had also been repeatedly harassed during the Brexit chaos.
She tweeted: “Apparently MPs and politicians are meant to accept it as part of the democratic process. I fail to see why journalists and technicians should be subjected to the same abuse & intimidation as the police stand by and do nothing. They tried to stop me getting into parliament.”
The Speaker of the House John Bercow told parliament that police had been made aware of the issue.
He said: “Peaceful protest is a vital democratic freedom, but so is the right of elected members to go about their business without being threatened or abused, and that includes access to and from the media stands in Abingdon Green.
“I am concerned at this stage about what seem to be a pattern of protest targeted in particular — I don’t say exclusively — at women.”
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