A government minister has thanked the CST after he faced antisemitic remarks and threats posted about him online.
Johnny Mercer, who was first elected as the Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View in 2015, posted screenshots of threatening comments to his Twitter account on Monday.
The former British Army officer and Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs is not Jewish. He was raised as a Baptist Christian in Kent, but in 2018 he said he was no longer a practicing Christian.
In one comment shared to his Twitter, a user remarks in reference to Mr Mercer: “Little Jew needs skinning alive and rolled in salt (non kosher).”
The comment appears to be a reply to another post that read: “Opportunity to kill a few globalists.”
A further screenshot displays a news article thumbnail in which Mr Mercer appears, captioned: “The next dead MP?”
“People should know the price of being an MP before criticising those colleagues who choose to step down,” Mr Mercer explained via Twitter.
“This all from one guy, in Plymouth. Threatens to kill me, skin me in salt (bit specific), has done recces of my home, and encourages others to ‘lynch’ me.
Happy Mondays. People should know the price of being an MP before criticising those colleagues who choose to step down.
— Rt Hon Johnny Mercer (@JohnnyMercerUK) December 12, 2022
This all from one guy, in Plymouth. Threatens to kill me, skin me in salt (bit specific), has done recce’s of my home and encourages others to ‘lynch’ me. pic.twitter.com/9VHBJ3WzBN
“Thanks to the Community Security Trust for bringing this to my attention, and doing your bit to look after brilliant Jewish colleagues like @RuthSmeeth.
“Think before you do things like this. We all have families - and for the record, colleagues get far worse,” he went on.
The CST, a charity that provides safety, security and advice to the British Jewish community, wrote in light of Mr Mercer’s post: “As @JohnnyMercerUK says, this thread relates to a series of vicious threats against him that CST researchers found in the course of our work, which we reported to the police and to Johnny Mercer's office.
“Extremism feeds antisemitism and endangers democracy - it is all one fight.”
As @JohnnyMercerUK says, this thread relates to a series of vicious threats against him that CST researchers found in the course of our work, which we reported to police and to Johnny Mercer's office. Extremism feeds antisemitism and endangers democracy - it is all one fight. https://t.co/vgGrSS6jXt
— CST (@CST_UK) December 12, 2022
