Yahoo News Angela Rayner Apologises 'Unreservedly' For Calling Tories 'Scum'
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has apologised for describing Conservatives as “scum”.
In a post on her social media channels, the MP said: “I was angry about where our country is headed and policies that have made life harder for so many people I represent.
“But I would like to unreservedly apologise for the language I used, and I would not use it again.”
At her party’s conference last month, Rayner labelled Tories as “scum, homophobic, racist, misogynistic”.
She later defended her comments as “street language”.
A statement on recent events: https://t.co/XJ92jWP9rIpic.twitter.com/bvTaQDnUWa
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) October 28, 2021
It came after a court heard how a former delivery driver sent Rayner a threatening email because he felt she was “partially responsible” for the fatal attack on Sir David Amess after she called the Conservative party “scum”.
Benjamin Iliffe, 36, sent a threatening email from his personal account on October 16 and was arrested on Wednesday, Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court heard.
The defendant, who appeared by video-link from Thorpe Wood police station in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, warned Rayner to “watch your back and your kids” in the email.
In a Facebook post after Iliffe was sentenced to 15 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, Rayner said: “While I have been away from the cut and thrust of Parliament I have reflected on our political debate and the threats and abuse that now seem to feature all too often.
“I have also reflected on what I said at an event at Labour Party conference. I was angry about where our country is headed and policies that have made life harder for so many people I represent. But I would like to unreservedly apologise for the language I used, and I would not use it again.
“I will continue to speak my mind, stand up for Labour values and hold the government to account. But in the future I will be more careful about how I do that and in the language that I choose.
“I want to address the threats I have received recently. In the past I have been reluctant to speak out about the abuse that I receive because I fear that doing so will only make the situation worse.
“However, in recent weeks the threats that I have received against my life and the lives of close family have been so terrifying and explicit that I could not stay silent and simply continue to take it as ‘part of the job’.
“They have had a devastating impact on me, my children and others close to me.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
