A Conservative MP has revealed his constituency office has been vandalised for a second time amid anger over the Downing Street party scandal.
Peter Bone called for a debate on the security of MPs after “Liar” was daubed in black paint across the window of his office on Thursday.
His office was previously graffitied in November last year with the words “Tory sleaze” after he voted in favour of overturning former minister Owen Paterson’s Commons suspension.
He said on Thursday: “Unfortunately, this morning my office was yet again vandalised.
“It’s not fair on my staff in Wellingborough, it’s not fair for other members who’ve suffered similarly.
“So perhaps my question to the leader of the house now is please could we have a debate next week on the security of members in this house and the importance of that to our democratic process?”
It comes as Boris Johnson faces calls to quit from members of his own party over the No10 garden party scandal and public anger.
Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg steered away from consenting to a debate on MPs’ security - given the sensitivity of the topic.
Rees-Mogg said he was “very concerned” about the matters, adding: “I can reassure him that the review of MPs’ security with the Home Office and Metropolitan Police is going ahead well.
“It is so important for the sake of democracy that members are safe in their offices and I’m sure the police will take this attack extremely seriously.”
Separately, Bone revealed the level of abuse he has suffered as an MP in an interview with GB News’ Gloria De Piero.
In an exchange due to be aired at 12.40pm today, he said: “We’ve had death threats, we’ve had a picture of my eldest son being executed on social media, we’ve had someone convicted for harassment. We’ve had our house attacked.
“These are the sort of things - this isn’t limited to me, of course, many MPs go through this – but it’s not fair, it shouldn’t happen anyway, but it shouldn’t happen to your family.
“Because my family’s got nothing to do with the way I vote, and it’s outrageous and obscene and social media has got a lot to do with it.”
Bone, who was elected in 2005, said the abuse started off as “really mild” and added: “As social media developed the idea that people can call you a racist or want to kill your children or shout at you in the street. All those things now happen and one of the things I would do is remove the fact that you can’t tell who someone who’s tweeting something is.
“You should be able to source that so you can take them to court for what they’re saying. At the moment they say awful things, which stirs other people up, and I think we’ve all suffered from that, and it’s not a good thing.
“We have to do something to make sure that people can’t say things that are untrue and vicious just because they’re hidden and you don’t know who they are.”
Asked if he had received threats that required police involvement, he replied: “Well, obviously the one where the person was convicted, absolutely. Convicted for harassment. That person threatened myself and my children.”
Bone said three times he has had to dial 999 in constituency surgeries in one year.
He added: “It’s important that people realise that politicians are human beings. You know, the level of abuse that is thrown at us would never be acceptable in any other walk of life, so if we can do anything to stop that or reduce it, then we should.”
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