Former MP condemns alleged harrassment and intimidation

FORMER Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid has called upon his Tory rival to condemn alleged public harrassment and intimidation from Warrington4Brexit activists during a visit to the town by Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry.

Heated exchanges took place when the Shadow Foreign Secretary visited Warrington town centre last Friday evening.

Mr Rashid, who is bidding to be re-elected, condemned alleged tactics of public harassment and intimidation carried out by “Tory-supporting activists” in Warrington South by members of the Warrington4Brexit group.

The allegations have been denied by the cross-party group who claim Labour supporters “poked the four Warrington4Brexit ladies with umbrellas and attempted to grab and throw on the ground their WARRINGTON VOTED LEAVE posters.”

Mr Rashid claims the tactics first emerged when “Tory supporters” targeted his pop-up surgeries around town, making it difficult for him to fulfil his public responsibilities as a local MP.

They were deployed again when the Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry visited Warrington last Friday evening (Nov 22).

He says the same group of “Tory activists” shoved and jostled Labour supporters who had gathered to welcome the Shadow Secretary of State to the town. He also claims a Labour supporter was punched by one of the Tory-supporting activists.

The protestors continued to harass Labour supporters after the meeting, following them all the way back to the local campaign office despite repeatedly being asked not to do so. The protestors shouted insulting and derogatory remarks, urging one Labour supporter to “go back to where you came from”.

He says the activists included the leader of the ‘Warrington 4 Brexit’ group who has been campaigning on behalf of the local Tory parliamentary candidate.

Mr Rashid, who has said he will vote to Remain if given the opportunity again, has urged the local Warrington South Conservative candidate Andy Carter to publicly condemn these tactics and disown those involved.

He added: “During my time as MP for Warrington South, I have tried my best to remain as open and accessible as possible. I met with ‘Warrington 4 Brexit’ to listen to their views, and while we did not agree on much, I am always committed to having a fair and respectful exchange of views with everyone.

“I am therefore saddened that these activists have since embarked on an unpleasant campaign of public harassment and intimidation. Despite them urging ‘respect for democracy’, these tactics are neither respectful nor democratic. It is not right that these events must be organised in secret for fear of right-wing activists turning up to cause trouble and harass attendees.

“I am alarmed that these activists also appear to be campaigning on behalf of the local Conservative Party candidate. I urge the Tory Warrington South Parliamentary candidate to unreservedly condemn these tactics and publicly distance himself from ‘Warrington 4 Brexit’.

“The Conservative Party has been courting the far-right for too long. Recently, Boris Johnson was endorsed by Tommy Robinson – I think that says it all about the present state of the Tory Party.

“The Labour Party stands for friendship, equality and liberty. We will not be intimidated, nor will we be forced to stop campaigning in this General Election – no matter how hard Tory-supporting activists try to stop us exercising our democratic rights.”

In response to the allegations a spokesperson for Warrington4Brexit said:”The counter-demonstration carried out at the Skittles last Friday was not authorised or carried out by Warrington South conservatives – it was a demonstration by four female members of the Warrington 4 Brexit group, who at one stage were joined by a male passer-by who offered to hold up a WARRINGTON VOTED LEAVE poster. There appeared to be about 40 Labour supporters at the event.

“At no time did Warrington4Brexit members jostle or punch any of the Labour supporters, on contrary, Labour supporters poked the 4 Warrington4Brexit ladies with umbrellas and attempted to grab and throw on the ground their WARRINGTON VOTED LEAVE posters.

“At no point did any of the Warrington 4 Brexit supporters shout insulting or derogatory remarks and we utterly refute the allegation that one of us told a Labour supporter to “go back to where you came from”. This is a very serious and libellous accusation which should not be repeated unless Warrington South Labour Party can provide video evidence.

“Emily Thornberry is Shadow Foreign Secretary and would play a crucial role in Brexit deal negotiations were Labour to win the General Election and negotiate a new deal with the EU. However, she has already stated that she will campaign for REMAIN in a 2nd referendum. The Warrington4Brexit protesters therefore asked Ms Thornberry how she thinks she can negotiate a good deal when she is already committed to back Remain, but she refused to answer.

“In the video taken by one of the 4 ladies protesting for Warrington4Brexit, jeering and laughing is clearly audible from Labour supporters when a Warrington4Brexit protester produces the Union flag.

“The main message shouted at the counter-protest was “Respect Democracy”, since we believe that Labour should honour its 2017 manifesto pledge to respect the result of the 2016 EU Referendum.

“Warrington 4 Brexit is not a group of right-wing activists – in fact 3 of the 4 ladies at the counter-protest were formerly Labour supporters and voters, who have abandoned Labour partly because of Labour’s stance on Brexit.”

A spokesperson for Warrington Conservative Parliamentary candidate Andy Carter, said: “Everyone has the right to express their views in a sensible and rational manner, we do not condone any form of harassment, violence or intimidation and any allegations should be reported accordingly.

“We understand that Warrington 4 Brexit are a cross party group who’ve campaigned since the referendum. Some members may choose to support the Conservatives at the forthcoming election, others may vote for different parties, but to  link Warrington 4 Brexit to ‘the far right’ simply demonstrates how out of touch Labour have become.”

@EmilyThornberry had to sneak into @FaisalRashid ‘s constituency office round the back, because she didn’t want to be snapped with #Warrington4Brexit supporters standing outside! You can run but you can’t hide Emily! Respect democracy! #Warrington4Brexit @Warrington4B pic.twitter.com/WHMab5IWtp

— JLeotardi (@JLeotardi) November 23, 2019