Police are investigating an antisemitic and homophobic online rant targeting Ruth Smeeth, a Labour MP.

Officers from the Metropolitan police counter terrorism command are investigating the threat in conjunction with the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, following the anonymous 1,000-word attack on the Stoke-on-Trent North MP, who is Jewish.

Facebook staff have been asked to help identify the person who posted the comments.



The Met said allegations of malicious communication and threats to kill made via social media were reported to the force on 13 July. “That investigation is ongoing. At this stage, whilst there have been no arrests, a number of lines of inquiry are being actively pursued.”

It is understood that police have increased security for Smeeth’s constituency office and homes, including panic buttons and CCTV cameras. Smeeth told the Guardian: “I refuse to be intimidated or scared by anyone who resorts to this appalling racist and threatening abuse and they alone are responsible for their actions. But let’s be clear: as leader of the official opposition and the head of my party, Jeremy Corbyn has a responsibility to lead and that means more then telling MPs to ignore abuse.

“He needs to name and shame his supporters who are perpetuating this hate and make it clear they are not welcome in our party if they have such abhorrent views.”

In June the MP walked out of a press conference for the launch of an independent review into antisemitism in the Labour party that was hosted by Corbyn and its author Shami Chakrabarti. Smeeth had been accused by a Corbyn supporter of colluding with the Daily Telegraph in a row over leaflets criticising MPs opposed to his continued leadership of the party.

The MP said later: “I was verbally attacked by a Momentum activist and Jeremy Corbyn supporter who used traditional antisemitic slurs to attack me for being part of a ‘media conspiracy’. It is beyond belief that someone could come to the launch of a report on antisemitism in the Labour party and espouse such vile conspiracy theories about Jewish people, which were ironically highlighted as such in Ms Chakrabarti’s report, while the leader of my own party stood by and did absolutely nothing.”

After calling on Corbyn to resign following the incident, Smeeth was subject to thousands of abusive messages on social media.

Three days before the antisemitism report was published she resigned from a role with Labour’s shadow Northern Ireland and Scotland teams.

On Tuesday a former shadow cabinet minister, Chris Bryant, said that police were investigating death threats made against at least 25 MPs. The threats, made last weekend, came two months after the death of his Labour colleague Jo Cox. The MPs were sent an identical message threatening to kill them and their families, along with a picture of a severed head.

Bryant said threats against politicians were increasing and those who are women, gay or from a minority ethnic background appeared to be particularly targeted.

