Lib Dem MP standing down because of abuse reveals she received email calling her a 'baby killer'
Liberal Democrat MP Heidi Allen has revealed she received an email accusing her of killing a baby after speaking out about having an abortion.
Ms Allen, who left the Tories to set up The Independent Group before leading Change UK and then defecting to the Lib Dems, announced this week that she will not be standing in the forthcoming general election.
Announcing her decision earlier this week, Ms Allen had said she was "exhausted by the invasion into my privacy and the nastiness and intimidation that has become commonplace".
The South Cambridgeshire MP, who gave an emotional speech in the House of Commons last year about her "incredibly hard decision" to have a termination, revealed today she received an email accusing her of "killing a baby”.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "I had a particularly nasty email last week.
"And I thought - do you know what, nobody in their working place should have to put up with this.”
Asked about the content of the email, she said: "It was about me killing a baby because I'd had an abortion.”
She added: "You are attacked on a daily basis, on email, on social media, people shout at you in the street, it's become absolutely vile.”
Her experience comes after pregnant Labour MP Stella Creasy was targeted by anti-abortion campaigners, who plastered a billboard of an aborted foetus in her Walthamstow constituency.
Read more from Yahoo News UK:
Labour leadership 'f***ing mad' for agreeing to a general election
Think tank identifies key voter Tories will target to win election
Anna Soubry claims majority of MPs back a People's Vote 'in private'
The billboard, that was later removed, was put up after MPs approved an amendment by Ms Creasy to extend abortion rights to Northern Ireland.
In 2018, Ms Allen spoke of how she was ill when she made the decision to have an abortion, during the debate on reforming the law in the region.
Boris Johnson has been criticised for his “inflammatory comments” in Parliament over claims that MPs receive death threats.
The Prime Minister was blasted by Labour MP Paula Sherriff, who told him: “We should not resort to using offensive, dangerous or inflammatory language for legislation that we do not like and we stand here under the shield of our departed friend with many of us in this place subject to death threats and abuse every single day.
“And let me tell the Prime Minister that they often quote his, words Surrender Act, betrayal, traitor, and I for one am sick of it.”
Mr Johnson went on to describe her comments as “humbug”.
In a letter to her constituents on Tuesday, committed Remainer Ms Allen said Brexit has "broken our politics", adding: "I became an MP because I wanted to make a difference, but while Brexit continues to captivate Parliament, that just hasn't been possible.”
Her South Cambridgeshire constituency is traditionally a safe Conservative seat which she held with a majority of almost 16,000 at the 2017 general election.