December 20, 2017•Update: December 21, 2017
By Muhammad Mussa
LONDON
A Labour MP has spoken out against a threatening email he received accusing him of promoting “black supremacy” in the UK and warning him that he could suffer the same fate as Jo Cox, the Labour MP who was murdered last year.
A spokesman for Tottenham MP David Lammy shared the image of the email in a tweet and said that the matter had been reported to the police. The email, sent to Lammy on Tuesday morning, offered a “friendly warning”.
“As you attack the White population of Britain in your aims to gain Black Supremacy in this country, remember what happened to Jo Cox. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM but there are those out there would like to see you suffer the same fate. Be careful!!” the email added.
Cox, MP for the Batley and Spen constituency, was shot and stabbed by Thomas Mair in June 2016 just days before the Brexit referendum. During the attack, Mair was heard shouting “This is for Britain!” and “Britain First!”
Lammy is a leading figure and outspoken critic on institutionalized racism. He recently released a report that concluded that black and other ethnic minority suspects face a higher level of bias and discrimination in the justice system than the white community. His constituency, Tottenham, contains a high percentage of ethnic minorities, including a large Turkish community.
Lammy, who voted alongside a Tory backbench rebellion that stung Prime Minister Theresa May in the Houses of Commons last week, is not the only MP to have received threatening emails.
Dominic Grieve, the ex-Cabinet minister who led the Tory rebellion against May’s Brexit plans, has mentioned a string of death threats he received following his victory in parliament. He added that all colleagues who spoke out on Brexit had gotten similar threats of abuse, including that of physical violence.
In a response to the email, Lammy thanked the sender “for your friendly warning and reference to Jo Cox, my friend & colleague who was murdered. However if this is meant to be a subtle way of intimidating me, scaring me or stopping me raising important issues as an elected representative it isn't going to work.”
“David regularly receives racist abuse, hate mail and threatening communications. This was a particularly disturbing email to receive and the specific reference to Jo Cox is clearly concerning for his wife and children.” his spokesman said.
