Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

AN MP yesterday laid bare the flood of violent, racist and sexual abuse she has suffered since being elected as women politicians unite to drive internet trolls offline.

SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh was horrified and scared after being subjected to horrendous abuse by post, email and on social media since her election last May.

Two of her abusers have been convicted in court after she endured a torrent of hateful taunts.

She spoke out days before politicians join forces in a cross-party group to demand an end to online abuse which, they say, targets women in public life far more than men.

Read more:

Ahmed-Sheikh said: “I’ve tried to keep quiet about it and I haven’t spoken about these things until now.

“And I do worry about the effect speaking out might have. But I am a mum of three girls and more people need to know about how this affects us and how you can feel demeaned.

“Many colleagues have suffered terribly abusive remarks too. We need to get the point across that when it reaches unacceptable levels and when there are personal attacks with sexual connotations, it becomes offensive.

“We are already facing a deficit of women, of people with disabilities, of members of the LGBTI community in public life.

“If there are already underrepresented groups, how are we ever going to get them to come forward unless we tackle this?”

(Image: Perthshire Advertiser)

This week, Ahmed-Sheikh, her party colleague Hannah Bardell and former Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson – who also experienced hateful messages on social media – will help to launch an online public consultation on the scale of abuse.

A cross-party group set up by Labour’s Yvette Cooper will launch a campaign on Thursday called Reclaim the Internet.

Ahmed-Sheikh – the SNP’s women’s and equalities convener – said abuse against her has “escalated” since she was elected. She has passed more than 100 files on online abuse to police.

She said: “People ask why don’t I call people out on Twitter. But if I comment or copy a tweet, that can sometimes encourage people and make them realise you are the subject of that.

“As a politician, I am used to receiving comments. But after I received letters, I was afraid. When someone knows where you are and how to contact you, it’s scary. One incident happened in my first seven days as an MP.

“Most mail around the time was congratulatory but I opened a letter and it was like a newspaper cutting with horrible things written on it.

“There were things about me being a Muslim and threatening language. It was unnerving and that was what marked my first few days.”

Within weeks, she had received a second letter. Recognising the writing, she sent it to police who lifted fingerprints and found the perpetrator.

David Crozier has appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court and pled guilty to sending messages

containing offensive and abusive comments aggravated by religious prejudice from his home in May last year. He will be sentenced next month.

In March, James Learmonth, 68, was fined £500 for sending an email containing “grossly offensive terms” last December.

Ahmed-Sheikh, a lawyer and former actress, said personal attacks continued to escalate after she became MP for Ochil and South Perthshire.

She said: “On one hand, I get Islamic extremists who think I’m not a Muslim, then those at the other end say my house should be bombed.”

A lot of the abuse she receives centres on her appearance or on her being a woman.

She said: “On the day of zero tolerance against female genital mutilation, some individual tweeted, ‘Can you show me yours?’

“Others said they wanted to see me deported, another said I had a face you’d never tire of

slapping and someone else said, ‘I’d love to have you for a night, I want to sex you up.’”

Ahmed-Sheikh said she was left tearful and scared. She said she is upset at the impact the comments have had on her family and told how her children, in particular her older two, wonder why people speak about their mum in such a way.

She said: “It’s upsetting. You feel anxious and nervous and you start to question, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’

“If you are away from family for three nights a week and out of that nice family space, you have to feel that what you are doing is worth it.”

Her political colleagues have also spoken out about the torrent of abuse they have faced in the public eye.

Ahmed-Sheikh said: “I understand why others feel ashamed.

“I would get comments about being mixed race which I didn’t want to tell my dad because I didn’t want him to feel responsible. You don’t want anyone to feel it’s because of them.

“My children ask me, ‘Why are you crying?’ I just say there are some people who are not nice but we are trying to do good and there are more good

people out there than bad.

“My husband is a rock. There are a lot of men standing with us in Parliament and making people aware that there are human beings at the end of this.”

Ahmed-Sheikh said she expected some criticism from the public. But she has been horrified at the scale of abuse directed at her and female colleagues.

She said: “Are there male politicians on social media having people asking them to do things to them?

“Maybe it’s because there are more women speaking up for women that this is happening.

“Maybe as we strive for equality we will continue to face these barriers. We will continue to fight for what’s right.”

Ahmed-Sheikh, who is the SNP’s spokesperson on trade and investment, said she is determined to put an end to the abuse and prejudice.

She said: “When you are standing up in the House of Commons and you sit down and you read that the comments are about what you were wearing, it’s really disturbing. Where it takes a different turn is where it becomes personal.”

Read more:

Cooper, who is leading the Westminster drive against internet trolls, said: “Online harassment and abuse can poison debate and in some cases wreck lives.

“Launching this campaign we’ve heard about teachers whose mental health has suffered as a result of abuse on Facebook and teenage girls who’ve received rape threats just for speaking up.

“If we want the internet to be a place for free and open debate, we must stand together to

prevent some people’s voices being silenced by abuse or intimidation.

“That’s why we’ve started Reclaim the Internet. We’re bringing together individuals, trade

unions, social media platforms, employers and charities from across the country to generate the ideas and energy to help reclaim the internet for everyone.”