Stella Creasy thanks passengers for intervening as she was ‘hassled' by man on London Underground
Stella Creasy was on the Victoria Line when she began to be harassed by the male passenger in an incident she is planning to report to the police.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Walthamstow MP said: 'If you were one of the passengers on the victoria line just now who intervened to stop a man hassling me thank you from the bottom of my heart.
'Please get in touch with my office if you are prepared to be a witness as maybe the police might listen to you about him now!'
The Independent contacted Ms Creasy to ask for more details. TFL was contacted for comment.
Ms Creasy has been repeatedly targeted with abuse, lashing out last year at the crusade of harassment launched against her by anti-abortion activists, an issue on which she has campaigned.
In a moving interview with The Independent, Ms Creasy said she was facing 'a bonfire of abuse' from anti-abortion ideologues on social media in punishment for campaigning on abortion rights.
And in 2013, a man was arrested after launching a torrent of violent abuse on social media at Ms Creasy.
Peter Nunn, a blogger from Bristol, was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment in September 2014 for sending messages to Ms Creasy calling her a witch and retweeting rape threats.
She and other feminist campaigners were harassed after expressing support for the image of author Jane Austen to be placed on a banknote.
After the incident, Ms Creasy was forced to have a panic button installed in her home.
Ms Creasy's latest incident comes months after a cross-party inquiry warned that democracy is being undermined by the scale of abuse, threats and intimidation facing MPs.
A survey by the Speaker's Conference revealed about half of MPs said threatening behaviour had caused anxiety or depression (49 per cent), with a similar share feeling unsafe as a result (52 per cent).
The inquiry concluded that electoral law is 'not fit for purpose' in relation to tackling abuse of political candidates in elections and called for a Government review to assess security and electoral integrity.
This phase of the Conference was established in 2024 to help ensure that elections to Parliament are conducted freely and fairly, without threats or violence.
It also seeks to enable candidates to campaign safely and support elected representatives to do their job securely.
Commenting on the findings, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Commons Speaker and chairman of the Speaker's Conference, said: 'Participating in free and fair democratic processes – as a candidate or a Member of Parliament – is a privilege, and we expect that to come with robust political discourse and debate.
'But abuse, threats and intimidation should never be part of this job. It threatens the health of our democracy, and forces people to choose between the public good and their own safety and wellbeing.
'I am grateful to members, their staff and the witnesses we have heard from to date for sharing their experiences with us and look forward to working with colleagues on the next phase of the Conference's work.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
What do we know about Donald Trump's visit to Scotland?
Donald Trump flies into Scotland on Friday for a four-day trip, his first visit to the UK since his US president is due to visit his golf resorts at Turnberry on the Ayrshire coast and Menie in White House has described the visit as a "private" trip and said he will meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Scottish government has confirmed that First Minister John Swinney will also meet the is due to return to the UK for an official state visit in have already been raised about the scale of the visit and the security implications, with police representatives raising concern about both the costs involved and the impact on staffing. Why is President Trump coming to Scotland? The fact this is not an official state visit means President Trump is largely free to set his own main purpose appears to be to visit his two golf courses - Trump International at Menie in Aberdeenshire and Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire. Trump opened the former in 2012 and bought Turnberry two years has been a regular visitor to both courses over the years, the last time being in 2023 when he broke ground on a second course at the site in connections to Scotland are mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born and raised just outside Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis. A native Gaelic speaker, she moved to New York aged 18, where she later married businessman Fred president has visited her former home in Tong more than once and has often spoken of his love of his mother's home investments have brought jobs to both his businesses in Scotland, though the scale of these have been clear, however, is that he retains a close interest in them, though serving presidents are meant - by convention - to step back from running any businesses while occupying the White House. When is President Trump coming to Scotland? The president is expected to arrive some time on Friday, and travel back to the US on Tuesday 29 schedule has not been made public but he is expected to split his time between his two Scottish bases at Turnberry and length of the trip and the relative lack of programmed meetings is a contrast to the forthcoming state visit, which will be a much more formal affair, from 17 to 19 that occasion, he and First Lady Melania Trump will stay at Windsor Castle as the guests of the King and Queen. Who is President Trump meeting in Scotland? Earlier this month, the president's press secretary told reporters at the White House that Trump would meet the prime minister in "Aberdeen" on Monday. Karoline Leavitt said the meeting with Starmer would "refine the great trade deal that was brokered between the United States and the United Kingdom".However, the Menie resort is about 10 miles (16km) north of the city and Downing Street has yet to confirm details of the proposed meeting, including where it will take place and what will be later said he had decided to meet the president on his trip because it was in Scotland's interests to do so. He said there were a number of domestic and international issues which were of interest to the people of Scotland including the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and the imposition of tariffs on products such as Scotch whisky.A Scottish government spokesperson said the president's visit would be an opportunity to "promote the interests of Scotland".Swinney previously said he did not see how September's state visit could go ahead in the wake of President Trump's showdown with Ukraine's President Zelensky in the White House in Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie described John Swinney's decision to meet President Trump as "tragic".He said: "There can be no excuses for trying to cosy up to his increasingly fascist political agenda." What will President Trump's security be like? Presidential visits are enormous affairs and the security operation which will accompany Trump and his family is Force One - the president's jet - is a heavily-defended flying White House. The presidential motorcade, which includes two identical limousines and more than 20 other security and communications vehicles, is transported ahead of the visit by United States Air Force transport the ground, the president travels in Cadillac One - an armoured, high-powered enhanced limousine known as "The Beast". And there will have to be an enhanced police presence, taken from the ranks of the host country's own forces. For the last state visit in June 2019, more than 6,300 UK police officers were deployed at a cost to London's Metropolitan Police of £3.4m. A previous four-day working visit in 2018 cost more than £ 2018 trip to Scotland is thought to have seen more than 5,000 officers deployed, with the UK Treasury chipping in about £5m to help with the there are already concerns about how much this "private" trip will cost Scotland, especially against a backdrop of police complaints about spending on the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank-and-file officers, has raised concerns about what the Trump visit will mean for its Scotland confirmed it was preparing for a presidential visit earlier this Scottish government said it had been working with the national force to put plans in place, with thousands of officers likely to be deployed as part of the security operation. Will there be protests against President Trump? President Trump is probably the most high-profile individual ever to visit Scotland. He's also at constant was an attempt on his life during the 2024 election and a man has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president after being found with a rifle at a golf course in Florida in September are at the higher end of the risks facing security teams guarding the most powerful man on of the coming visit's police resources will be taken up with balancing the right to democratic protest with the president and his entourage's ability to travel safely around last presidential visit made by Trump in 2018 required a major security operation, with thousands protesting in Glasgow, Edinburgh and was booed during an afternoon game of golf by demonstrators gathered along the the perimeter at Turnberry.A paraglider also flew over the hotel with a banner criticising the will undoubtedly be more protests this time around. Among those who have vowed to be out on the streets is Scottish Green leadership contender Ross Greer, who called the president a "dangerous extremist".He told the BBC that he would be protesting "in solidarity with the people in the US and across the world who are already suffering as a result of Donald Trump".Police Scotland have said they have the resources to deal with whatever the visit brings.
BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
M&S backs farmers over UK Labour ministers in inheritance tax row
A senior executive at major UK retailer Marks and Spencer has criticised planned changes to inheritance tax, warning they will put off young people from working in April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m will be taxed at a rate of 20%, half the usual McLean, M&S head of agriculture and fisheries, told BBC Wales the policy will "definitely" be a "deterrent for young people coming into the industry".A UK government spokesperson said the "reforms to agricultural and business property relief are vital to fix the public services we all rely on". Ministers insist "three quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most people pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free".One farming union warned last month that Welsh family farms have been thrown into "turmoil" by the changes. Speaking at the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd, Mr McLean, firmly backed the farmers in the argument. M&S, he said, was "very, very clear" that agriculture should be treated differently by the government."The whole taxation system was devised to recognise that the margins of profitability in agriculture weren't like other industries," he said."That's why you had a difference in how the inheritance tax approach was set up." Mr McLean warned the changes, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last November, would "impact confidence"."They definitely will be a deterrent for young people coming into the industry, and we want to see a vibrant, viable farming structure where young people can come in and make a good living and be proud of what they do," he said. "So being able to give greater surety, greater security is going to be key to viable farming structure going forward."The UK government spokesperson added: "Our commitment to farming and food security is steadfast, which is why we've allocated a record £11.8bn to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament and appointed former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend new reforms to boost farmers profits."
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
House of Lords block attempt to limit foreign investment in British newspapers
A bid to severely limit foreign state investment in UK newspapers was defeated by peers tonight. Paving the way for the takeover of The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the House of Lords blocked an attempt to prevent passive shareholdings being raised to 15 per cent. It is the latest turn in a tumultuous two-year takeover process for the 170-year-old business. It comes after the previous Conservative government put a 5 per cent limit in place amid fears the Telegraph could be bought by RedBird IMI, a firm majority-owned by the UAE, in a £500million deal. But following a consultation, Labour proposed a higher cap to enable newspapers to access crucial finance. Tory Baroness Stowell said the 15 per cent cap supports the 'much bigger principle of Press freedom' and told the Lords: 'While we all care about protecting a free Press, upholding that principle will serve little purpose if our news industry can't survive – and their economic conditions are worsening.' Liberal Democrat peer Lord Fox had tabled a rare 'fatal motion' to block the proposals, despite approval by the Commons. But it was defeated by 267 votes to 155. RedBird Capital, the US junior partner in RedBird IMI, agreed a deal in May to buy a majority stake in the newspaper for £500 million. Abu-Dhabi's IMI will look to buy a minority stake as part of the consortium.
