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More on KentOnline
A woman has been arrested and cautioned after allegedly sending a barrage of "vile" emails to a Kent MP "glorifying" the killing of Sir David Amess just hours after his death.
Dartford MP Gareth Johnson says the abuse directed at elected representatives has increased dramatically over recent years but is now beyond the pale.
Offensive or derogatory comments are commonplace online and death threats are almost seen as a normal part of political life, the Conservative politician warned.
But when a constituent sent him "vile" messages "glorifying" the death of colleague and close personal friend Sir David Amess MP, who was stabbed during a constituency surgery in Southend last month, Mr Johnson said this "crossed the line" and he felt compelled to go to the police.
He says his alleged abuser, a woman who he did not want to name, first got in touch asking for help but things turned sour.
"Eighteen months ago she started getting in touch to help with a particular issue," said Mr Johnson.
"Over time she became more and more aggressive. I started receiving lots and lots of emails of a very obscene malicious nature."
Mr Johnson, who has represented Dartford since 2010, says he severed all communication after her messages became more personal in nature.
He said: "I had ignored and ignored it again and again and she had emailed me dozens of times.
"This culminated in her contacting me within hours of David Amess's death, the first one saying how pleased she was he had been murdered."
Shortly after, he says he received another obscene email, adding she "hoped he had suffered and bled like a pig".
The Tory MP added: "When she got to the point of she was glorifying David Amess' death, I took the view she had crossed the line."
He went to the police with the information who then arrested the woman on suspicion of sending a malicious communication.
Police confirmed they received reports of “malicious communications offences, relating to emails sent to a person and which contained offensive and indecent content. A 62-year-old woman from Dartford was arrested on November 1 and after admitting the offences was dealt with by way of a police caution,” a police spokesman said.
The killing of Sir David has brought the safety of parliamentarians under the spotlight once again.
His death comes after the Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 as she was on her way to a constituency surgery.
And Mr Johnson has warned the "diabolical" abuse and vitriol directed towards elected members of all parties is on the rise again and could soon impact how MPs do their jobs.
He said: "It is absolutely right that people challenge, question and argue their case but this kind of abuse goes way beyond an acceptable level.
"It is absolutely right that people challenge, question and argue their case but this kind of abuse goes way beyond an acceptable level..."
"It undermines the democratic process. A lot (of MPs) are concerned they can't speak out because of the death threats and the abuse that comes with it.
"We want to have robust, open political debate but what no reasonable person wants is threats and abuse to become the norm."
The Tory MP, who was reappointed to the whips office in the recent re-shuffle, says he is not aware of a single MP who has not had to deal with a death threat.
He said: "It is something all MPs are talking about and how the level of abuse has just escalated many times what it was in the past.
"I'm determined to continue to hold my regular surgery but we have had to adjust how we approach them."
Mr Johnson did not wish to go into details for security reasons but has warned female colleagues often get it far worse.
"Women seem to be targeted a lot more than men," Mr Johnson added. "I've had abuse but nothing like some of my colleagues."
Last month, Rochester and Strood MP Kelly Tolhurst spoke out on the personal abuse she has faced since joining Parliament in 2015, warning she and colleagues were now seen as "fair game".
Mr Johnson has also called for a renewed attempt to stamp out the "mob mentality" he says is growing online.
He says the Online Safety Bill, which is currently making its passage through Parliament and will consult MPs on new powers to police internet trolls and misinformation that "propagate violence", is one means to achieve this.
The government minister also believes more still needs to be done to hold big tech companies to account.
He said: "We want social media to be open as much as we can and we want our elected representatives to be accessible as much as we can but what we can't tolerate is a situation where criticism becomes abuse and violence."
Asked about plans to strip online trolls of their anonymity and demand ID, Mr Johnson did not rule out his support but warned against a "knee-jerk" reaction. Instead, he explained it was important Parliament had time to fully debate the issues.
Ali Harbi Ali, 25, is charged with murdering Conservative MP for Southend West Sir David Amess during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex on October 15.
He will enter pleas in December.
To get the latest updates in ongoing cases, police appeals and criminals put behind bars, click here
