A London MP has claimed that Metropolitan Police told her to “accept harassment” after she lodged a complaint over a man who verbally abused her on the street.
Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, contacted police after the man allegedly shouted “child killer” at her over her stance on abortion.
However, Scotland Yard told her that the anti-abortion campaigner’s insults against her as she walked along the street with her child, did not pass the criminal threshold.
She told the Times the police said "the problem was my response, in that I told him it wasn’t appropriate, and that I have a problem with people disagreeing with me".
Commander Simon Messinger, who leads the policing team advising on safety of MPs, said the allegation Ms Creasy made "was taken seriously but a careful assessment found that it would not meet the criminal threshold".
The MP was confronted by a man as she was walking from a park with her child days before the general election on July 4.
She said the man shouted at her alleging "moral crimes" and labelled her a "child killer" for her views on abortion.
Ms Creasy, 47, called on the man to stop harassing her as he was upsetting her child.
However, he continued with the abuse shouting: "You’re OK with killing children" and "I’m going to carry on until you’re defeated".
She said the man had previously sent her abusive messages on social media, branding her "evil".
The MP sent a recording of the incident to police who allegedly said the man had the right to engage with her as she was a public figure and her daughter's distress had been caused by her behaviour in telling the man to leave them alone.
Commander Messinger is head of Operation Bridger, the policing strategy to keep election candidates safe.
He said he understood the incident had been "very unpleasant for Ms Creasy" and that "details were recorded in order to better inform our understanding of any further incidents that might form a pattern of behaviour and therefore prompt a different response".
He added that MPs "have a right to a private life and should be able to go about their day to day activities free from harassment or intimidation".
Ms Creasy, was re-elected as MP for Walthamstow, with a 59.3 per cent share of the vote, has has described Operation Bridger as "non-existent".
Meanwhile Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will chair a meeting of a government task force aimed at tackling what she described as the “alarming rise” in harassment of political candidates and campaigners.
She said: “In our democracy we must be able to passionately debate and disagree on issues without ever resorting to intimidating tactics designed to silence voices, suppress votes or prevent free and full participation in our democratic processes.
“The disgraceful scenes we saw in some areas during this election campaign must not be repeated. That’s why I am convening and chairing a meeting of the Defending Democracy Taskforce next week to make sure public safety, security and standards in our democracy can be upheld.”
