Serving soldier facing probe over apparent death threat to Labour’s Angela Rayner
A serving British solider is facing investigation over an abusive tweet sent to senior Labour MP Angela Rayner warning she will “perish when civil war comes”.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace said the soldier concerned was being investigated by both the Army and the civilian police.
The incident comes amid concern that the furious exchanges inside and outside parliament over Brexit are leading to growing numbers of violent threats to MPs from members of the public.
The tweet was sent from the soldier’s Twitter account, which has since been deleted, after Rayner – the shadow education secretary – criticised the performance in the Commons of Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.
Earlier this year, video footage emerged of soldiers using Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s face as target practice.
The tweet to Rayner read: “Ohh f*** off you stupid bitch, c**** like you will perish when civil war comes and its coming. 17.4 million people are gunning for blood if we don’t leave.”
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Was the soldier one of those that had paper pictures of Jeremy Corbyn fixed on their targets at the shooting range?
It appears that the British military need to provide an education in Political Science to their ranks. One of their tasks is to defend democracy, not support anarchy.
Soldiers that cannot contain their anger have no place in military service. Their place in in jail, under close supervision.
I do hope the labour leadership keeps in touch with the military and ensure that they know a labour government is in their interest.
Another reality to keep in mind is that some radicalised young men are interested in joining the military in order to get the training.
There is no denying that this ‘soldier’ actually sent this tweet, and there is no denying that its content was a threat to murder. He must be dishonourably discharged and face justice in our law courts as I do not trust the military to try this thug justly. When one remembers the murder of Jo Cox this is not something to be taken lightly. But the language of Boris Johnson and his cohorts such as Farage are the ones whipping up these thugs. They must be held accountable as well.