LABOUR Friends of Israel’s former chair Lord Walney called on ministers today probe candidate intimidation in the run-up to the general election.
The government’s so-called independent adviser on political violence alleged that a series of events before July 4 were part of a “concerted campaign by extremists.”
Aka John Woodcock, the former MP — who switched to Boris Johnson’s Tories in 2019 — has urged parliamentarians to to take a “zero-tolerance approach” with pro-Palestine groups and climate protesters, as well as accepted Israel lobby funding amid the Gaza genocide.
In a letter shared with the BBC, he has called on Yvette Cooper and Security Minister Dan Jarvis to commission a short inquiry to find out if groups in different constituencies were working together and to document what he calls the “dark underbelly” of abuse.
He wrote that evidence in the past few months suggested an intentional campaign “by extremists to create a hostile atmosphere for MPs” within their constituencies to pressure them to “cave in to political demands.”
Lord Walney, who recently advised the government to clamp down on the right to protest and ban them taking place outside Parliament, MPs’ offices and council chambers, said: “I am increasingly concerned about the scale of intimidation against candidates in the general election.
“I believe there is now a need for a focused piece of work on the scale and drivers of this intimidation so that it cannot continue to mar our democratic processes and put candidates at risk.”
It comes as pro-Israel Labour figures were accused of mischaracterising questioning by Palestine protesters in a bid to shirk political accountability for their support of the ongoing Gaza massacre.
The Labour candidate Jonathan Ashworth, who lost his seat in Leicester South to independent Shockat Adam, has told of being shouted at “with megaphones” and that leaflets were distributed dubbing him “Genocide Jon.”
A spokesman for Mr Adam said he would “never condone bullying or harassment” but added: “A bit of questioning in the street is not unusual in a democracy and, if Shockat ever lost touch with his voters as Jonathan did, he would expect to be held similarly accountable.”
Labour suffered heavy defeats in the general election to pro-Palestinian candidates, angry with the party’s position on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
A Home Office spokesman said: “Political intimidation and abuse should have no place in our society.
“We take reports of intimidation, harassment and abuse extremely seriously and are following up with individual MPs and candidates.”
