Acid attack among three threats to 'life and limb' issued to Deputy PM Dominic Raab in two years

Dominic Raab - 'I've had three threats to life and limb in two years'

Dominic Raab has revealed he has received three death threats in the past two years - the latest being an acid attack - as a debate rages on how to ensure MP's safety following the killing of Sir David Amess.

It comes after a 76-year-old man was arrested over a death threat issued to Labour MP Chris Bryant, which was made after Tory MP Sir David was stabbed and died while holding a constituency surgery.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lead tributes in the Commons to Sir David later on Monday before MPs and peers attend a service in his honour nearby at St Margaret's Church.

The killing of the veteran parliamentarian at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday has led to fresh scrutiny over the security of MPs.

Just a day later, Mr Bryant said he received a death threat after returning from Qatar where he has been investigating the situation faced by refugees from Afghanistan.

"I got back on Saturday and the first message in my inbox was this death threat, pretty clear, so I notified the police and they have taken action," he said.

He said abuse in British politics has risen in recent years, particularly over Brexit and from anti-vaccine protesters who he said had targeted his Rhondda constituency office in the last year.

A South Wales Police spokesperson said a 76-year-old man from Bridgend was arrested on suspicion of malicious communications after the threat levelled at the Labour MP.

Mr Raab said colleagues - particularly women - have received "worse abuse" than himself but that he has been the victim of three recent threats that required "intervention".

"I have had three threats to life and limb over the last two years," the deputy prime minister told ITV News.

He said the most recent was "someone threatening to throw acid over me".

While recognising the need for security, many MPs have been careful to warn against allowing the attack on Sir David to create detachment from their constituents.

Mr Raab said having plain-clothes police officers on the doors of surgeries with constituents could have a "chilling effect", but he would understand if colleagues decided otherwise.

"We don't let the terrorists win by creating wedges or walls between us and those who vote us in," he told ITV News.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle called for fresh understanding of how politics can be made safer, but discussed the extensive protections of his US counterpart as he warned against a "knee-jerk reaction".

"Do I want to be like Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi, who can't go anywhere without armed police? Is that a life I want? No," he told ITV's Good Morning Britain.

Sir David's killing was the second death of an MP within five years, after Labour's Jo Cox was targeted by a right-wing extremist outside a West Yorkshire library where she was due to hold a constituency surgery.

Politicians will share their memories of Sir David in Parliament after a morning of prayers and a minute's silence at 2.30pm on Monday.

His family said their "hearts are shattered" by the killing of their "strong and courageous" father.

"So, we ask people to set aside their differences and show kindness and love to all. This is the only way forward. Set aside hatred and work towards togetherness," they said in a statement.

A 25-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of Sir David's murder and remains in police custody.

He has been detained under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and detectives are expected to continue to question him until Friday after a warrant of further detention was granted.