Bullying has no place in Labour insists Corbyn after MPs' abuse claims
Bullying behaviour has “no place” in the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn has insisted after facing calls to expel members who have threatened parliamentarians over the vote on military action.
The Labour leader said he had received a number of reports that MPs had been abused but insisted the actions went against everything he stood for.
Labour MP John Mann said individual MPs were facing an “appalling” level of bullying via social media and email, including threats to orchestrate their de-selection if they vote in favour of air strikes.
Earlier in the Commons, Labour MP John Woodcock had hinted that Mr Corbyn himself had been responsible for threats towards those in favour of military action.
The former shadow minister said MPs would not be “threatened from doing what we believe is the right thing, whether those threats come from online activists or, indeed, from our own despatch box”.
Mr Corbyn said: “Democratic debate comes with responsibilities, the responsibility of respect for others, even if they don’t agree with you. Over recent days I have received a number of reports that there have been some incidents where Labour Party members and MPs have been abused.
“Unfortunately the Prime Minister took part in this himself by downgrading this debate by calling those who vote against extending air strikes ’terrorist sympathisers’.”
“I want to be very clear, there is no place in the Labour Party or from those that support us, for bullying of any sort, from any side of the debate. It flies in the face of everything I believe and everything I stand for.”
Former minister Diana Johnson published an email which has been sent to Labour MPs, warning them that they will face a vote of no confidence in their constituencies if they support Prime Minister David Cameron’s motion.
The email, purporting to be sent by a party member, warned that this was “the least the Labour Party members will do to try to wash the blood from their hands of the innocent civilians which the bombs will surely kill”.
.@jeremycorbyn says abuse of MPs over Syria 'flies in face' of what he believes #SyriaVote https://t.co/PQQWZb9VQT pic.twitter.com/lZbMHFGQKZ
— ITV News (@itvnews) December 2, 2015
Ms Johnson said she was “saddened” by the message, adding: “It is important to remember that Labour MPs have a free vote and are being asked to do what they believe is right on Wednesday.”
Mr Mann highlighted messages sent on Twitter branding one fellow MP “a warmongering piece of crap” and calling for “a final solution to purge Blairite scum” like former leadership candidate Liz Kendall from the party.
Those sending such abuse were “not suitable to remain Labour Party members”, he said.
Ms Kendall responded to the abuse on Twitter with the defiant message: “You don’t frighten me ’comrade’.”
Replying to a message apparently sent by a supporter of the left-wing Momentum group urging members to put pressure on MPs, she wrote: “I will listen to all views, but in the end I will decide according to my conscience and the evidence, not pressure.”
One of the messages which Mr Mann complained about was sent from an account claiming to belong to a “special adviser” to Mr Corbyn called Wesley Brown, which has previously been exposed as a fake.
Other messages are anonymous or issued under false names.
But Mr Mann said that some of those responsible were clearly identifiable, and called on Mr Corbyn to discipline any who were genuine party members.
Mr Mann told the Press Association: “The level of abuse over the last four months is on a totally, totally different scale from anything ever before. It is directly linked to people purporting to support Jeremy.
“He should remove this intolerant minority. They have no place in a progressive left-wing party. None of them have been disciplined yet, never mind expelled and he should start doing so.”
Mr Mann said he was on the receiving end of abuse despite making clear he will vote against bombing, blaming inaccurate lists of supposed rebels being circulated among opponents of air strikes.
“It is deliberate bullying,” he said. “I have received tweets and emails, some are random but some seem to be orchestrated by groups both inside and outside the party.
“Threats of de-selection are at the mild end of it. There is every kind of name-calling you can think of.
“There is no place in the Labour Party for people who are going to abuse others in the run-up to an important debate and vote.”
Labour backbencher Stella Creasy said that even as the debate was taking place, her staff were facing abuse.
“For Christ’s sake – I want to listen to debate in chamber but people ringing my office abusing my staff so dipping out to check ok!” she wrote on Twitter.
