General election: Labour under pressure to drop candidate who shared post of Theresa May at gunpoint

'The impact of such images are clear - they incite intimidation and violence against female politicians,' say group of Labour women

Lizzy Buchan

Political Correspondent

Saturday 09 November 2019 07:23 EST

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(EPA)

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Labour is facing pressure to ditch a potential election candidate who shared a social media post of Theresa May at gunpoint.

A group of prominent female MPs seeking re-election have written to party bosses urging them not to endorse Kate Osborne to stand in Jarrow, as it would “undermine" efforts to stamp out abuse.

Labour’s ruling body is understood to be meeting on Saturday to discuss the seat, which was left vacant after previous MP Stephen Hepburn was suspended over sexual harassment claims.

The row stems from a post shared by Ms Osborne in 2017, uncovered by HuffPost, which showed the former prime minister cowering at gunpoint with the words, “Say strong and stable again”.

Dozens of candidates, including Yvette Cooper, Jess Phillips, Stella Creasy and Rosie Duffield, have signed a letter to general secretary Jennie Formby and members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to express their “shock and concern”.

The letter said: “The impact of such images are clear - they incite intimidation and violence against female politicians. Many of our Labour colleagues - and indeed politicians from all political parties - have been subject to similar disturbing content online.

"When women in public life are facing unacceptable levels of intimidation, sharing this image not only indicates an extreme lack of judgement, but further feeds into the cycle of abuse that we are all currently experiencing.

"If Kate Osborne is selected, it would undermine any claim our party makes to stand resolutely against the harassment and intimidation of women in public life.”

Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said the post was “totally unacceptable”.

“As somebody who has faced a level of abuse and death threats as a politician, I think a lot of people out there really don’t see vitriol and nastiness that is online pointed at politicians at the moment,” she said.

“I think it is totally unacceptable to share images like that.”

Asked whether Ms Osborne should stand down, she said: “It’s not a matter for me whether that happens, it would be the NEC that looks at that.”

Ms Osborne told HuffPost she apologised “unreservedly” for the post,

She said: “I shared an image on social media of a film parody poster making light of Theresa May’s forced and robotic statements about her ‘strong and stable government’ in the run up to the 2017 general election.

“I unreservedly apologise for having shared this image. As a woman, I am extremely concerned about the abuse and threats that women in politics face and if elected I will work with colleagues to challenge misogyny, hate and division in politics and beyond.”

It comes after another candidate, Gideon Bull, pulled out of the race in Clacton on Friday after allegations of antisemitism.

Ian Byrne, standing in Liverpool West Derby, also faced calls to resign after it emerged that he shared a social media post calling a female Tory peer a “c***”.