A Tory member of Parliament who represents a largely Jewish constituency announced his resignation Thursday after receiving a barrage of death threats following his support for Israel and condemnation of antisemitism in the U.K.
After serving in public office for 30 years, MP Mike Freer, who represents Finchley and Golders Green, said he is not pursuing the seat again as a Conservative Party candidate in the next general election. Freer served Finchley and Golders Green since 2010.
The MP has been subject to intense intimidation since defending Israel in the wake of its invasion by Hamas and subsequent military response. The “final straw” that solidified his decision to step down was the arson attack on his north London constituency office in December. After his desk was set ablaze, according to pictures obtained by the Daily Mail, Freer said he got an email calling him “the kind of person who deserved to be set alight.”
“Since my election as MP in 2010 I have sadly had several serious threats to my personal safety,” Freer wrote in a statement. “The attacks by Muslims Against Crusades, Ali Harbi Ali, and the recent arson attack (where the motives remain unclear) have weighed heavily on me and my husband Angelo. These serious incidents are among the many ‘low level’ incidents.”
In 2021, Freer narrowly avoided a deadly run-in with Ali, an Islamic terrorist, who visited his office with a plan to kill him, scoping out the premises and peering through his window for an hour. After the experience, the shaken MP told the Daily Mail that he felt “lucky to be alive.” In April 2022, Ali was convicted of murdering Sir David Amess, another MP, and of planning terrorist attacks on other MPs, the Guardian reported. Ali stabbed Amess 21 times.
“Who knows what would have happened?,” Freer told the Daily Mail. “Would he have attacked me? If he did attack, would I have survived? Given what he did to David, I think it’s unlikely he wouldn’t have attacked me and I think it’s unlikely that I would have survived that kind of frenzied attack. That’s luck.”
On the advice of police, Freer and his team have taken to wearing stab vests when out in public with constituents. Freer said the brutal October 7 attacks on Israel sparked a flood of anti-semitism in the country, including via many large pro-Palestinian protests in London.
“It will be an enormous wrench to step down, it has been the privilege of my life to serve the wonderfully diverse and vibrant area that is Finchley and Golden Green,” Freer added in his statement. “Serving the constituents and getting things done is what makes the job worthwhile.”