Downing Street has said the "vitriolic hatred" faced by a Tory MP who has said he will stand down at the next election is an "attack on British democracy". Death threats and an alleged arson attack on his constituency office had "become too much", Justice Minister Mike Freer told the Daily Mail. Asked if MPs had enough protection, the spokesman added existing measures were "robust" but were "kept under review".
The prime minister was "extremely saddened" that Mr Freer, who has represented Finchley and Golders Green in north London since 2010, "feels he is no longer able to serve his local community", the Downing Street spokesman said. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he was saddened to hear Mr Freer was standing down and vowed to do what he could to ensure MPs were safe. But he also called for MPs to "turn down the heat" and "have a nicer politics within the House" than the "election frenzy" he currently saw. "Because in the end don't be shocked if people react in the way that we react to each other," he told Sky News