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Yvette Cooper: Man arrested over threats made against Labour MP

Fifty-nine-year-old from Leeds arrested and bailed pending further advice 

Tuesday 05 February 2019 19:24 EST
Labour MP Yvette Cooper in Whitehall
Labour MP Yvette Cooper in Whitehall (PA)

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A man has been arrested over threats allegedly made against Labour MP Yvette Cooper.

West Yorkshire Police said officers were holding a 59-year-old in Castleford on 1 February over alleged threats to a serving MP.

The man, from Leeds, has been bailed pending further advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, police said.

A force spokeswoman said: "As a result of information received in relation to alleged threats against a serving MP, officers arrested a 59-year-old Leeds man in Castleford on Friday."

The nature of the alleged threat and whether it was made on social media have not yet been disclosed.

Ms Cooper, who is chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, had previously received threats on social media during the EU referendum campaign in 2016.

The MP contacted Twitter and the police at the time, when another user accused her of sending propaganda emails and said "please stop or I will kill your kids and grandkids".

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The 2016 threat came around a week after the murder of Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed by right-wing extremist Thomas Mair.

He was jailed for the rest of his life after an Old Bailey trial that heard he was obsessed with Nazism and ideas of white supremacy.

Additional reporting from agencies

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