A North London MP has said another assassination of a Member of Parliament is ‘inevitable’ after he experienced a fire at his office, ‘death threats’ and a near miss with Sir David Amess’ murderer. Mike Freer announced in February that he will stand down at the next general election.
The Finchley and Golders Green MP also claims that he and his staff have resorted to wearing stab vests. His constituency office has now been restored.
A fire broke out in a shed at the rear of the building at around 7pm on Christmas Eve. Part of the first, second and third floors of the property were also damaged.
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Two men were charged with arson in January. Paul Harwood, 42, and Zara Kasory, 32, both of no fixed address, were arrested on January 3. Now, Mr Freer has warned that the killing of another MP, after the murders of Jo Cox, in 2016 and Sir David Amess, in 2021, is ‘inevitable’.
He told MyLondon at his base in Finchley on Thursday (May 16): “People come to the constituency, come to the office, with the intention to stab me. So that has been a real weight on my mind.”
Mr Freer specified that one of the people who had turned up at his local HQ with the ‘intention to harm him’ was Ali Harbi Ali – the man who had killed his former colleague Sir David. It was ‘purely by fluke’ that he was not at the office, Mr Freer said, as Ali was outside, armed and ‘with the intention to hurt him’.
‘One day, someone else will get through’
On whether he thinks another MP could be killed, Mr Freer said: “Sadly, it’s probably inevitable. Because the difficulty is MPs are so accessible, and, frankly, that’s what I think is the fundamental part of our democracy. How do we keep MPs safe, but keep that really special access by our constituents.
“So, sadly, I do feel we can take all the precautions in the world. But, one day, someone else will get through, and, sadly, I’m not sure what we can do to stop that.”
The MP claims he has had ‘two run ins’ with Muslims Against Crusades, now an illegal organisation, who ‘made it very clear that they were coming to attack’ him.
This included ‘turning up to a surgery to disrupt it and make threats’. As regards other London MPs, Mr Freer claimed they are all suffering ‘a level of abuse’ and ‘threats’. Mr Freer argues that all threats received should be published to show the scale of the problem.
MPs’ safety ‘particular concern’ in London
Chairman of the Conservative Party, Richard Holden, told MyLondon that the safety of MPs is a ‘particular concern’ in London. He also referred to the shooting of the Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico, on Wednesday (May 15).
Mr Holden said: “It’s just incumbent on us all, especially when we saw that news today out of Slovakia, about the prime minister there being attacked, we’ve just got to remember that it is a dangerous world out there.” He added that MPs in London ‘will take precautions which are right for them in their situation’. There have been ‘increased security measures at many MPs’ offices’ also, he said.
More cash to protect MPs
In February, The Government committed an additional £31 million to ‘protect the UK’s democratic processes from disruption and provide new security provisions to elected representatives over the next year. Officials said the cash will be used to ‘enhance police capabilities, increase private sector security provisions for those facing a higher risk, and expand cyber security advice to locally elected representatives’.
The Government added that will also ensure all elected representatives and candidates have a ‘dedicated named police contact’ to liaise with on security matters, ‘significantly expanding the support provided under current policing arrangements’.
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