MP Lisa Cameron forced into hiding after defecting from the SNP to the Conservative Party
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.
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.
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.
Politics
Kemi Badenoch accuses Sir Keir Starmer of ‘lying’ about Peter Mandelson prior to sacking him
Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “lying to the whole country” about what he knew regarding Peter Mandelson’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.
Lord Mandelson was this week stripped of his position as ambassador to the US amid fresh scrutiny over his years-long friendship with the convicted paedophile.
The prime minister initially defended the Labour peer but removed him from his post on Thursday after newly seen emails revealed he sent messages of support to Epstein even as he faced jail for sex offences in 2008.
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Lord Mandelson – the unanswered questions
The Times has now reported that Downing Street and the Foreign Office were aware of the emails on Tuesday – a day before Sir Keir gave Lord Mandelson his backing at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).
In a post on X, Conservative leader Ms Badenoch wrote: “Looks like the Prime Minister and Labour MPs spent the week lying to the whole country about what they knew regarding Mandelson’s involvement with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.”
She continued: “If No 10 had those emails for 48 hours before acting, it means he lied at PMQs and ministers lied again about new additional information. These are yet more errors of judgment.
“The Prime Minister has very serious questions to answer. The only way to clear this up is full transparency about who knew what, and when.”
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Sources said Sir Keir was not aware of the contents of the emails when he told MPs he had “confidence” in Lord Mandelson.
A media enquiry outlining details of the messages between Lord Mandelson and Epstein was sent to the Foreign Office on Tuesday, and passed on to Number 10.
Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, asked Lord Mandelson about the emails on Tuesday, but did not receive a response until the following day.
Sir Keir is understood not to have been aware of the contents of the emails until Wednesday evening.
Speaking to Sky News, one Labour MP has called for more information on what happened behind closed doors at No 10 this week.
Jo White, MP for Bassetlaw, in Nottinghamshire, said: “We cannot move on until we find out how he [Sir Keir] was not briefed properly before PMQs.”
“What he needs to do now is get on top and sort out this mess,” she said. “Suspend the whip from Peter Mandelson and expel him from the party, then have a transparent enquiry about what went wrong at No.10.”
This came as Sir Keir enjoyed some time away from Downing Street.
The prime minister was on Saturday pictured watching Arsenal face Nottingham Forest in a Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal fan Sir Keir cheered on his side as they won 3-0. Pic: Reuters
Lord Mandelson’s exit came after less than a fortnight after another high-profile loss for the Labour government, as Angela Rayner was forced to quit as deputy prime minister and deputy Labour leader over her tax affairs.
As Sir Keir has faced a scandal-hit start to the month, a growing number of Labour MPs have begun calling his leadership into question.
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Lucy Powell, who is running to replace Ms Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader, has called for a “change of culture” at Downing Street.
“We’ve got a bit of a groupthink happening at the top, that culture of not being receptive to interrogation, not being receptive to differing views,” she told The Guardian newspaper.
Meanwhile, senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry has written to the new foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, demanding answers about the vetting process for UK diplomats in the wake of Lord Mandelson’s sacking.
A man has admitted arson after a major fire at an MP’s constituency office.
Joshua Oliver, 28, pleaded guilty to starting the fire which destroyed the office of Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, at Vermont House in Washington, Tyne and Wear.
The fire also wrecked a small charity for people with very rare genetic diseases and an NHS mental health service for veterans.
The guilty plea was entered at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on the basis that it was reckless rather than intentional.
Hodgson, who has been an MP since 2005, winning her seat again in 2019. Pic: Reuters
The Crown did not accept that basis of plea.
Oliver, of no fixed address, had been living in a tent nearby, the court heard.
Northumbria Police previously said it was “alerted to a fire at a premises on Woodland Terrace in the Washington area” shortly after 12.20am on Thursday.
“Emergency services attended and no one is reported to have been injured in the incident,” it added.
Drone footage from the scene showed extensive damage to the building.
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A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
“We have worked closely with Northumbria Police as they carried out their investigation.”
Oliver was remanded in custody and will appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, 14 October.
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