Stella Creasy defends anti-war protesters who marched on her Walthamstow office

Stella Creasy
Ben Pruchnie / Getty
Tom Marshall5 December 2015
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Labour MP Stella Creasy has defended anti-war activists who marched on her office over her support for bombing in Syria.

The Walthamstow MP said she was targeted with "violent and abusive" threats online and her staff faced harassment over the phone in the lead up to the Commons vote on air strikes on Wednesday.

But she said in a Facebook post on Friday that she did not believe the 250 people who marched on her Orford Road constituency office on Tuesday night were behind the abuse.

The MP, 38, defended the right to protest and sought to correct rumours that some activists had targeted her home.

She said: "For avoidance of doubt I have no reason to believe Tuesday's protest in Walthamstow went past my house, or that those involved also were the same people who rang my office to harass my staff or have been the ones sending me threats of violence or abusive messages on here.

"The right to protest is an important and powerful political tool which I defend, and I have no reason to think those who took part on Tuesday were not peaceful in their conduct."

On Tuesday night, protesters in Walthamstow stuck Post-It notes with “No” written on them on the doors and windows of her office, made anti-war speeches and waved flags and banners.

During Wednesday's debate ahead of the Commons vote, which was won 397 to 223 by the Government, Ms Creasy tweeted that people had started ringing her office to abuse her staff.

She was one of 66 Labour MPs to eventually vote against the position of her own party leader Jeremy Corbyn, but has become one of the main targets for online attacks.

She was sent pictures of mutilated children's bodies on social media and told to "enjoy sleeping while the first child dies".

Writing on Facebook, Ms Creasy said people making "violent and abusive" comments have no place "in a political party committed to equality".

She said a discussion on Syria is being held for Walthamstow residents on Sunday, where she hopes to have a more respectful debate.

She said: "One of the things I love about being the MP for Walthamstow is our capacity to be compassionate as well as passionate in our community - I'm hoping that we can have a good in person debate on Sunday in that spirit and checking out of here again accordingly."

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