Chris Bryant called ‘poof’ and ‘shirtlifter’ for condemning the Russian administration
Labour MP Chris Bryant has received a knighthood in the New Year Honours List 2023 (Alex B. Huckle/Getty)
MP for Rhondda Chris Bryant has received a barrage of homophobic abuse for speaking out against the Russian administration.
Describing Putin’s regime as “all the worst facets of communism and all the worst facets of rampant capitalism,” Bryant has received a series of hateful messages as he condemned the Russian state in parliament today after a tensions between Britain and Russia have escalated since the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
“The state beats its people poor and kills its political opponents.
'All the worst facets of communism and all the worst facets of rampant capitalism'@RhonddaBryant condemns the Russian state as MPs debate sanctions, claiming its ambassador has tried to interfere in @HouseofCommons affairs pic.twitter.com/hhIedCXBEQ
— BBC Wales Politics (@WalesPolitics) March 14, 2018
Speaking of the Russian diplomat Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko, Bryant alleged that the Russian representative had tried to interfere in political affairs in the House of Commons.
“He has tried to get the speaker to stop debates on Russia in this house. He has tried to interfere in the internal elections of this house… it is time we told him we shall order our affairs in this country,” said Bryant.
Since Bryant made the speech yesterday, he said he has been subject to a series of homophobic insults, listing the offending words on Twitter.
“So far today I’ve been called a degenerate, a dimwit, an idiot, cretin, poof, shirtlifter, warmonger, fascist, communist, murderer and f****ing tawt (sic). All because I’ve been calling out Putin’s kleptocratic murdering regime,” he wrote on the micro-blogging website.
A high level of anti-gay sentiment exists in Russia, which has been exacerbated by the introduction of “the gay propaganda law” five years ago.
The law, which prohibits any public display of homosexual relationships, has let to the persecution of thousands of LGBT Russians.
However, the MP has said that the hate tweets have not just come from Russia.
The former Shadow Leader of the House of Commons said that “some [of the trolls] are bots, some are not.”
The politician is openly gay, and entered a civil partnership with Jared Cranney in 2010.
Byrant’s civil partnership was the first to ever be held in the Houses of Parliament.
Under the Vienna Convention, the UK will expel 23 Russian diplomats over spy poisoning.
Russia have responded that the move is “absolutely unacceptable and we will consider this a provocation”.
