Countdown star’s ‘take out leader’ comment provokes outrage

Tory-supporting TV mathematician Rachel Riley has sparked outrage over a social media post in which she showed a picture of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and commented “If you take out the leader the others fall with him“:

The comment, made on Tuesday, triggered an avalanche of responses condemning what readers took as an incitement to violence or even murder:

Of several hundred responses to date, almost every one condemned the post, with many commenters reporting it to Twitter and Channel 4, which broadcasts Countdown, and some even saying they would be notifying the police.

Others made the obvious connection to violence already perpetrated against MPs, including Corbyn himself:

In addition to the terrifying incidents mentioned above, the right-wing extremist who murdered a Muslim man outside Finsbury Park mosque in 2017 last year admitted that he had also hoped to kill Corbyn in the attack.

This month, the BBC was unrepentant after publishing information that made it possible to identify Corbyn’s exact home address.

Ms Riley was contacted for comment via her agent but had not responded by the time of publication. The tweet in question remains online to date.

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