In an already greatly divisive political environment, Amy Dalla Mura, a radical Brexit activist has been charged on one count of harassment against Anna Soubry between January and March of this year.
Among the events that Amy Mura interrupted, on the 23rdJanuary she shouted over Soubry at an event in a London hotel whilst posting it live on Facebook. Adding to this, on the 14thof March she was also seen calling Soubry a “traitor” whilst she was giving a television interview in Parliament’s central lobby.
Mura’s full sentencing in the trial has however been postponed whilst the court wait for the release of a psychiatric report on the 16thDecember, following the General Election. Judge Ms Arbuthnot has granted Amy Mura bail until this point however the conditions of her bail mean that she cannot mention Soubry by name, go within the constituency of Broxtowe or the Houses of Parliament. Ms Mura will still be able to challenge Change UK’s policies however, but she is not allowed to personally attack Soubry in any way.
Before this court case, Ms Mura was challenging Anna Soubry’s position in the electoral seat. It is understood that she is likely to continue to contest this however she will have to do this remotely rather than within the constituency as she has been excluded from it under her bail terms. It has also been reported that she resides over 200 miles away from Broxtowe making the targeted harassment of Anna Soubry even more odd and deliberately targeted.
This harassment against Soubry unfortunately isn’t a standalone event with another extreme attack against the MP being that in October she was sent a “sickening” letter by Alden Barlow from Doncaster. The letter mentions deceased Jo Cox and the harshness of it meant that Barlow was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment.
Lots of the harassment towards Soubry has been directly linked to her Brexit stance as many voters are discontent by the fact that the MP reverted from the Conservative party in order to take a more radical remain stance on Brexit under Change UK. Broxtowe voted in the 2016 referendum with a majority to leave however at 54.6% the result was still very slim making opinions on attacking Soubry’s policies very divided.
With the electoral outcome of Broxtowe still being very uncertain this incident seeks to highlight just how polarised the constituency is with there being little room for political compromise. What is however clear though is that harassment linked to politics won’t be tolerated under our judicial system and many voters have felt sympathetic towards Soubry due to her treatment which may perhaps enhance her electoral prospects in December.
Lauren Mcgaun
Featured Image courtesy of ITV News via Facebook.
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