A UK lawmaker says he's quitting Parliament after death threats and an arson attack
ABC News
A Conservative lawmaker says he will step down when an election is called later this year because of abuse and death threats
LONDON -- A Conservative lawmaker in Britain said Thursday he will step down when an election is called later this year because of abuse and death threats he says are linked to his support for Israel.
Mike Freer said an arson attack on his office in December was the “final straw.”
He told the BBC that when people go into politics, “we kind of sign up for it, we take it on the chin. … But it’s not fair on our families.”
Freer represents the London constituency of Finchley and Golders Green, which has a large Jewish population.
Freer said he had received death threats from a group called Muslims Against Crusades and began wearing a stab-proof vest after learning his office had been staked out by Ali Harbi Ali, an Islamic State group supporter who stabbed Conservative lawmaker David Amess to death in 2021.
