Police probe shocking homophobic anti-Semitic death threats sent to Labour MP Ruth Smeeth
Police are investigating anti-Semitic and homophobic threats sent to Labour MP Ruth Smeeth.
Ms Smeeth is the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, and was one of a number of Labour politicians to resign from Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench earlier this year.
The politician, who is supporting a leadership bid from Owen Smith, revealed this week that she had been targeted by a horrific hate campaign.
The abusive message accused many senior Labour figures of being part of a “hatchet job on Jeremy” conducted by “Nazi-Zionist PR outfit Portland Communications”.
The message accuses “fraudulent Queers, Dykes and Paedophiles that proliferate the Westminster Bubble” of being traitors, labelling Ms Smeeth a “Dyke” for her role.
It continues: “And as if that wasn’t enough shit coming from the Queer, Dyke and Paedophile [expletive] of this loathsomely sick lot, we had another Dyke Ruth Smeeth conveniently and assisted, grabbing the pre-arranged limelight for her five minutes of ‘fame’ as it were— with her bogus anti-Semitic crap.
“I can tell you what is real. Dyke Ruth Smeeth is a CIA agent — a spy in other words — who’s embedded in the British Labour Party and the UK and working against the interests of both. So she’s in triplicate terms a [expletive] traitor.
“If the boot were on the other foot and this Dyke [expletive] was an American citizen and a politician to boot in that country… and was working as a spy for the United Kingdom against the interests of United State… Ruth Smeeth would have been rounded up, arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced for treason.”
It continues: “Ruth Smeeth is British and from my perspective since treason is still a capital offence in Britain
“The gallows would be fine and fitting place for this Dyke piece of Yid [expletive] to swing from.”
Authorities are investigating the message.
Ms Smeeth, who is Jewish, made the news in June when she was barraged with anti-Semitic abuse by an audience member at a Labour Party anti-Semitism event co-hosted by Mr Corbyn.
She told the BBC that her office received more than 20,000 abusive messages after the incident.
She said: “Jeremy Corbyn was clear apparently that while he condemned it, we should just ignore the abuse.
“Well, threats detailing how someone wants to hang me and what they want to do to me, that is not something that I nor the police can ignore.”
In a PinkNews interview yesterday, leadership challenger Owen Smith accused Mr Corbyn of “complacency” on tackling abuse.
But Mr Corbyn insisted to PinkNews: “If anyone is acting in a homophobic way in the Labour Party, they are wrong. They will have no support from me whatsoever in doing that. I absolutely condemn it and they should be investigated for their behaviour.
“If they are found to have made homophobic acts or made homophobic comments then there are sanctions open to them for the National Executive to take.
“That’s why I was concerned about reports I received over the issue of anti-Semitism and racism in the party. and I therefore appointed Shami Chakrabati to undertake an inquiry into it which she did.
“I asked her to do it in good time and she did it in two months, which is a very short time for such a report – but I felt that we had to get on the front foot and she produced a very good report, which suggests there has to be a more transparent process within the party for dealing with these allegations.”
