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An MP who defected from the Scottish National Party to join the Conservatives this week has said she and her family have been forced into hiding after receiving a barrage of threatening messages.

Dr Lisa Cameron said she was told “I hope you burn” and “I hope someone throws a brick at you in the street” among a series of threats received over email.

“Think your mental health is bad now — wait til you see what abuse and nastiness yer (sic) going to have to put up with,” another message said.

Dr Cameron, her husband and two daughters have moved out of their home and are now living at an undisclosed location in the Scottish countryside.

Speaking to The Times newspaper, Dr Cameron said she took the decision to leave her home to protect her two children.

“The kids were getting upset and I didn’t want them to be impacted any more. I thought it was best to get away and try and protect them,” she told the newspaper.

“I am a mum before anything else and that was foremost in my thoughts.”

The move comes after she resigned on Thursday citing what she called the “toxic and bullying SNP Westminster group”, saying she did not feel able to continue.

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But the decision of the MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow to quit the SNP but not her seat sparked some criticism.

First Minister Humza Yousaf has called for her to resign her seat and call a by-election.

“She should do the honourable thing by her constituents, who voted for an SNP MP [but] did not vote for a Conservative MP,” Mr Yousaf said.

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First Minister Humza Yousaf has called for Dr Cameron to resign her seat and call a by-election.

In a statement, Dr Cameron criticised her treatment by the SNP and its leadership after she spoke out about her colleague, Patrick Grady.

Mr Grady was suspended from the House of Commons for two days last year after he was found to have made an “unwanted sexual advance” to a member of party staff in 2016.

The former NHS psychologist said she was mistreated by her party after speaking in support of the complainant.

In a statement she said: “I do not feel able to continue in what I have experienced as a toxic and bullying SNP Westminster group, which resulted in my requiring counselling for a period of 12 months in parliament and caused significant deterioration in my health and wellbeing as assessed by my GP including the need for antidepressants.

“I will never regret my actions in standing up for a victim of abuse at the hands of an SNP MP last year, but I have no faith remaining in a party whose leadership supported the perpetrator’s interests over that of the victim’s and who have shown little to no interest in acknowledging or addressing the impact,” she added.

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In a separate interview with the Scottish Daily Mail she said her only regret was not leaving the SNP sooner, describing aspects of the party as “cult-like”.

“It does feel quite cult-like in the sense that, in order to have continued approval, you have to think and act and speak and behave in a way that is expected constantly, and never to criticise,” she told the newspaper.

She also claimed there was a “cult of personality” within the SNP that has left people feeling “unable to question” the leadership and being forced to leave.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he was “delighted” Dr Cameron had decided to join the Conservatives, describing her as a “brave and committed constituency MP”.

But, SNP president Mike Russell said on Friday the defection was an “odd tantrum”, from someone who was “going to lose their nomination”.

The SNP is due to meet on Sunday for Humza Yousaf’s first conference as leader.

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What’s behind Starmer’s reset?

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What's behind Starmer's reset?

👉Listen to Politics At Sam And Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

As MPs return to Westminster for a packed autumn term, will the prime minister be back with a bang?

Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss Keir Starmer’s priorities as the so-called “reset week” begins.

There’s chatter around No 10 of a staffing restructure but could this impact the government’s message and delivery of its missions?

Back in the Commons, the home secretary will lay out the government’s plans to restrict family members from joining asylum seekers.

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What to expect with US crypto policy as Congress comes back in session

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What to expect with US crypto policy as Congress comes back in session

What to expect with US crypto policy as Congress comes back in session

According to some Republican lawmakers, the first crypto-related priority in the Senate will be to pass legislation for market structure.

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Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘Mr Fixit’ is likely to be a recipe for conflict

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Sir Keir Starmer's 'Mr Fixit' is likely to be a recipe for conflict

After a torrid time before the summer break, Sir Keir Starmer has reshuffled his inner circle again on the first day back. 

This has become something of a habit.

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Although none of the Number 10 team are household names or public figures, the tally of those cycling through the top jobs is worth noting.

As of now, he’s had four chiefs of staff – the incumbent returning to the job, two cabinet secretaries with a third rumoured to be on the way and five directors of communications – a job that routinely fails to last a year these days.

The lesson this tells us is that when there’s blame to go around, Sir Keir is happy to apportion it to his closest aides.

In an interview today, the prime minister was clear that these changes are about moving to a new phase of government, more focused on delivery.

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A delivery phase implies legislation completed and a focus on implementation. Bluntly, this is not the case or an accurate assessment of the job that now needs to be done.

The autumn term is not about implementation.

It’s about filling the £20bn to £40bn black hole we expect to emerge in the autumn budget, as well as continuing to deal with an uncertain world globally, and deciding on massively tricky domestic issues like reform of special educational needs and whether to revisit welfare reform.

We are still at the “big choices” section of this parliament, not the delivery phase.

The big choice in Sir Keir’s reset on Monday has been to bring in his own Mr Fixit into Downing Street.

He chose a mid-level cabinet minister, Darren Jones – until today the number two in the Treasury – and has parachuted him into his office to oversee policy.

This is an appointment, I’m told, that was pushed and encouraged by Rachel Reeves because of Mr Jones’ role in the spending review.

As chief secretary, Mr Jones is meant to have gone item by item through every department’s budget. He knows where the financial bodies are buried and will be a major alternate source of advice for Sir Keir to individual cabinet ministers.

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This is undoubtedly a recipe for conflict. There are already some around the cabinet table who found Mr Jones’ style a touch brusque. His fans say this is part of why he is effective: he is prepared to challenge what he’s told, is an independent thinker and unafraid to challenge big beasts.

He will now play this role permanently, on behalf of the prime minister, and structurally, this means he is bound to be disliked by several of these colleagues who will no doubt, in time, seek to undermine him, just as he will challenge them and have the last word with Sir Keir.

No matter that some might be surprised at the choice, as a fiscal and reforming hawk, since few would put him on the same ideological wing of the party as the prime minister. He is also a late joiner to the Starmer project, although joining in opposition spent years longer than some as chair of the business select committee rather than taking more junior roles.

This is now immaterial. He is responsible for making Sir Keir’s government work in practice. His colleagues could do worse than to sincerely wish him good luck and leave him to it, as there is a great deal to be done.

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