Tory MP Dominic Grieve hit with death threats after leading Brexit vote revolt
The former attorney general says he is concerned about the backlash over the Government's defeat on the EU Withdrawal Bill.
Thursday 14 December 2017 22:06, UK
The Tory MP who led rebels to defeat the Government on flagship Brexit legislation has been forced to report death threats to police.
Prominent backbencher Dominic Grieve penned the amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill, opposed by the Government, which was passed by the House of Commons on Wednesday night.
His successful demand for Parliament to have a "meaningful vote" on any EU divorce deal represents the first defeat for ministers on Brexit legislation.
Both he and the ten other Tory MPs who supported him have faced a furious backlash in the wake of the vote, causing Mr Grieve to express his worries about the nature of the response.
The former attorney general told The Guardian: "The thing that continues to cause me concern is not that people will disagree vigorously with the positions we take.
"But that the atmosphere is so febrile that it leads firstly to people not listening to what the debate is about, secondly suggests that any questions around Brexit amount to an intention to sabotage and, thirdly, results in some people expressing themselves in terms that at times include death threats."
Mr Grieve told The Independent he'd had to report "certain things" to the police, while another of the Tory rebels, Antoinette Sandbach, said she had received "oblique" death threats.
Many of those Conservatives who rebelled against the Government on the EU Withdrawal Bill hit back at being featured on the Daily Mail's front page on Thursday, on which they were branded "self-consumed malcontents" alongside the headline "Proud of yourselves?"
Last month, during previous proceedings of the EU Withdrawal Bill, Anna Soubry revealed threats against her had been reported to police, which she linked to being branded a "Brexit mutineer" by The Daily Telegraph.
Responding to reports of threats against Mr Grieve, a senior Government official said: "Of course no politician should face intimidation or threats, full stop.
"The Prime Minister commissioned the Committee on Standards in Public Life to report on harassment faced by MPs and candidates in recent months."
As the Government contemplated how to react to their loss on Thursday, ministers also received warnings they could face another defeat on plans to write the Brexit date of 29 March, 2019 into law.
Mr Grieve and fellow rebel Stephen Hammond served notice they would oppose the Government again if they pushed ahead with the plan.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn confirmed his party would vote against the proposal, which was introduced as an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill by the Government itself.
He said: "We will vote against there being the fixed date. We think there should be some flexibility about that for a short period to ensure the negotiations proceed in a proper way.
"To put down what is in a sense an arbitrary date is not sensible. Let's negotiate seriously on this."