Harassment in Public Life

Yvette Cooper Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

My right hon. Friend’s question follows on from that asked by my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve). I agree that we must call out such abuse and not allow it to become the new normal.

My right hon. Friend makes a particular point about the past 10 days or so, during which I know several colleagues have received a particularly large number of nasty threats and attacks. I point out to her that a number of colleagues have experienced such levels of intimidation and threat for a much longer period. I know that because those colleagues have approached me, or because I have heard about them approaching their own chief of police to report threats and request additional security, not only for themselves but sometimes for their staff. This has not just happened in the past few weeks; it happened more than a year ago, and in some cases two years ago. We must not simply accept that such abuse is part of the life of an MP. It is not acceptable, and now is the time for us to call it out and make the necessary changes together.

[Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)]

We all believe in passion in politics, as well as in disagreement and argument, but when that passion turns to poison, it can undermine democracy itself. I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement and strongly support the strength and the words of the shadow Home Secretary. We will be hearing in the Home Affairs Committee tomorrow from Google, Facebook and Twitter about the further action we want them to take to tackle online abuse; they have all been urged to do more.

I must press the Home Secretary again on an issue that has been raised by Members from all parts of the House—namely, the need to challenge national newspapers if they do things that incite death threats or have an impact on the quality of our debate. In its report, the Committee on Standards in Public Life called on us all to show leadership and condemn individual cases. I asked the Prime Minister earlier to take the opportunity to say that the Daily Mail was wrong to call people treacherous. May I ask the Home Secretary to show some leadership and do so, even though the Prime Minister did not?

[Amber Rudd]

I welcome the right hon. Lady’s inquiry into online abuse, which she is taking forward tomorrow. I also welcome Twitter’s statement today about taking down a number of particularly hateful accounts; it shows that action is being taken. Google has announced that it will be publishing transparency reports. At least action is being taken in an area that has, I know, caused a great deal of harm and concern to very many of us.

I repeat that I believe that the real issue is the attackers, who are potentially launching their hate and abuse. As far as the media are concerned, it covers not just national newspapers but internet companies, commentators and television. I hope and expect that the level of discourse here today, and further in response to the Committee’s investigations, will start to engage them; and that they will notice that their language must reflect the fact that MPs are beginning to talk about hate threats and threats of violence as the new normal. We need their assistance to step down from that.