A veteran MP has told how he was knocked unconscious in a vicious, unprovoked attack in the street amid growing concern over violence against politicians. Barry Sheerman attended A&E with blood streaming from his nose after being punched in the face as he waited for a taxi late last year.
Police interviewed witnesses but have so far been unable to identify the culprit. Mr Sheerman has also been forced to increase security at his home after receiving death threats.
The 83-year-old Labour MP spoke after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that “mob rule is replacing democratic rule” in the UK.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has also admitted that he changed Commons procedures because he feared for the safety of MPs in a vote about the Gaza conflict.
Mr Sheerman, a father of four with 13 grandchildren, was the victim of a brutal attack in his Huddersfield constituency after enjoying dinner with a friend.
He said: “I went to a very nice pub restaurant that we tend to go to at the end of a Friday. Standing outside, a taxi pulls over. I ran up to check whether it was our taxi.
“Next thing I knew I was lying on the pavement. Somebody helped me up. My nose was streaming with blood.”
Mr Sheerman returned to the pub, where staff put bandages on his face and a fellow customer, an off-duty nurse, convinced him to go to hospital.
The MP said: “She said I was cut too badly for her to fix and I had to go to A&E.”
A doctor closed his wound and told Mr Sheerman that the injuries were “a classic sign somebody has punched you on the nose”.
He had bandages on his face for 10 days. The MP said: “I haven’t been physically punched since I was about seven in the playground.
“When someone punches you, it’s quite extraordinary. I blacked out.”
Nothing was taken from the MP during the attack in November last year, suggesting it was not a robbery and may have been politically motivated. Mr Sheerman has no way of knowing whether the incident was connected to death threats he has received on social media.
Police arrested a man at King’s Cross station in connection with the online abuse but, rather than being prosecuted, this person was sectioned and received hospital treatment.
The MP, who was first elected to Parliament in 1979 and will retire at the next election, said he feared another attack.
Mr Sheerman said: “I walk around carefully.
“Not standing too close to the edge of the platform while I wait for a train and generally being cautious. It’s draining.”
Police have also helped the MP install more security, including CCTV cameras around his home, but Mr Sheerman said that more support should be offered.
He added: “Just a call to make sure you are OK would be nice – maybe once a week.”
Concern about the safety of MPs has been associated with the conflict in the Middle East but Mr Sheerman believes a range of factors are making politicians less safe.
He said: “This is an intense and volatile time. All sorts of odd people, who used to write to you using green ink, are now getting into all sorts of conspir acy theories on social media. There is a febrile atmosphere that isn’t good. It’s partly what’s going on in the world but it’s not all Gaza.
“It’s what’s happening in the United States, what’s happening in Ukraine and in so many other countries.”
Mr Sheerman said that MPs were vulnerable when travelling and he had witnessed female colleagues “being horribly abused when people have taken some alcohol” on long-distance rail services.
Mr Sheerman’s own views on the Gaza conflict would be considered uncontroversial by many and he has spoken in the Commons calling on all sides “to stop killing children, stop killing civilians”.
Mr Sunak warned on Friday that “democracy itself is a target” for extremists and said “there are forces here at home trying to tear us apart”, as he urged the police to take a much tougher approach to protesters.
Home Secretary James Cleverly also announced on Friday that security for MPs will be improved, with a £31million package giving elected politi cians a dedicated police contact.
Conservative backbencher Tobias Ellwood’s home was targeted earlier this month by pro- Palestine protesters, with police telling his family to “stay away” from the property.
The House of Commons Speaker said that he had seen evidence of “absolutely frightening” threats made to MPs because of their stance on the war in Gaza, as he explained why he changed the usual House of Commons procedures during a debate on the issue.
But Sir Lindsay’s actions angered some MPs, with 95 Conservative, SNP and Plaid Cymru mem bers signing a motion saying they have no confidence in the Speaker.
One of the signatories said there would continue to be a “guerrilla campaign” to force Sir Lindsay to resign.
