POLICE are investigating alleged death threats against an SNP MP.
Joanna Cherry was the subject of two tweets the Metropolitan Police are now investigating under the Communications Act.
The force had previously dismissed one tweet from an account saying they did not consider it to be criminal, despite the author writing that they would “kill her with my bare hands if I ever saw her [in real life]”.
Another tweet, by the same author, has now been handed to the police and officers are investigating whether a crime has been committed.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “On Tuesday, 13 June the Met was made aware of tweet received by a serving MP.
“The contents were assessed and it was deemed it did not meet the criminal threshold for an offence.
“The matter was logged for intelligence purposes.
“However, we have today, 14 June, become aware of a further tweet linked to the same account and with these being taken together, we will now be investigating this matter for potential criminal offences under the Communications Act 2003.
“We take the safety and security of MPs extremely seriously and our Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team works with colleagues from local police forces through the Operation Bridger network and the Parliamentary Security Department to provide MPs and their constituency teams with support and advice in relation to their safety and security.”
The tweets were sent in response to a video which showed an exasperated Cherry showing her frustration during a Commons debate on the definition of sex in the Equality Act.
Fellow SNP MP Kirsty Blackman told MPs during the debate that trans people feared the culture war around gender self-identification would result in their exclusion from public life.
During Blackman’s contributions, Cherry was seen holding her head in her hands and at one point said: “What rubbish.”
Neale Hanvey, the Alba MP for Kirkcaldy, announced he had left London on Wednesday evening after he was allegedly targeted in the same tweet.
The account which posted the tweets in question appears to have been deleted.
