MP says ‘sadly it’s becoming part of the job’ after a suspected arson attack

MP says ‘sadly it’s becoming part of the job’ after a suspected arson attack

Next this morning the police investigation into a suspected arson attack at the office of MP Mike frier is continuing this morning officers called out to Finchley on Christmas Eve shed to the rear of the building was on fire uh let us talk to Mike frier who is the MP

Thank you for joining us on the program this boxing day so can you just tell me what happened please uh morning Nick um I was called out on Christmas Eve in the evening as someone had set a fire to the shed at the back of our building which unfortunately seemed to have caused

Quite a lot of damage um we’re not quite sure what the motive was yet the police are still investigating um what I do know is it’s caused significant damage to the ground floor office and the office above uh we’ve lost Windows uh and quite a lot of SN smoke and water

Damage and fire damage inside the office but the police and fire Services were on uh the site incredibly quickly and I say the police are still investigating yeah we can see some of the Damage Done there now this happened on Christmas Eve was was anyone in the building or or in the

Vicinity no I’d locked up the building um in the early afternoon um so luckily the building was unoccupied and so thankfully no one was hurt there’s just a lot of damage to the back of the building and to the two rear offices um but uh thankfully no one was hurt and

What what went through your mind when you got that call well uh the sad thing is it’s just uh the latest in a long line of incidents at um uh my office or where I personally as a member of parliament suffered uh abuse and attacks uh and so um sometimes

You kind of try and shrug it off but obviously when people set fire to something you’ll try and fire set fire to your building it’s very unsettling um not just for me but also it’s incredibly worrying for my staff you know they shouldn’t have to fear coming to work um

That they’re going to get attacked just because they work for Member of Parliament so it is very stressful very unnerving but uh particularly for the staff who work for members of parliament and I know it’s Christmas period so normally the the building wouldn’t be used but is it unusable as things

Stand so we’ve got the moment um most of the offices is unusable largely because of the smell we have no electrics uh because all the electrics have uh burnt infused uh but also one of the main offices is completely unusable you may have seen photographs of the the damage

And all of that has got to be uh roof uh you know the ceilings have got to be replaced lighting’s got to be replaced electrics all replaced on top of all the cleanup and new furniture Etc so it’ll be a while before we’re up and running

Um but uh it’s uh it’s quite distressing to see some an office uh destroyed like that uh but I’m hoping to be able to get my office up and running as fast as possible uh not least I want to be able to reassure my staff and my constituents

That um we won’t be deterred yeah you can we can see it’s shaken you any idea who’s done this clearly pointing to uh what police are describing as a suspected arson attack given that the office was closed well I think the CCTV footage that we’ve got have given the police uh

Some very useful leads for them to investigate and uh I have to say the police are working incredibly hard to try and find who did this uh the exact motive won’t be known until uh the suspects are caught uh but in terms of um obviously should be allowed to do

Their job and express their opinions uh freely without fear of being attacked in this way uh whatever the cause whether it’s uh someone just have bearing a grudge or slightly more nefarious Moes we won’t know until they’re arrested but in any event members of parliament should be able to represent their

Constituents and speak freely could it be as you describe a more nefarious motive connected perhaps to to what’s going on in the Middle East you are the MP for for Finchley and for golders green which we know’s got a a large Jewish community well I’m hoping it is a if you can have

An innocent ARS attack I’m hoping it is just um someone with a grudge or someone with nothing better to do than cause a fire uh but sadly I’ve had too many incidents in the past where I’ve been attacked because of my views on the Middle East um but also many of my

Constituents um have had similar incidents so um we’re not in you know it’s not an unknown incident in in gold as green um when something flares in the Middle East uh the level of attacks in my local area do go go up so sadly it

Could be to do with my views on the Middle East um I’m hoping it’s not uh I’m hoping it’s just a slightly more mundane Arsen attack if there is such a thing um but the sad thing is U we do have a history of attacks on me and my

Office and my local community so we’ll have to let the police do their job and find out what the exact motives were oh what kind of History to do with your office then well over the years I mean I have had um attacked by by Muslims against

Crusades uh on two occasions also U sadly the man that went on to murder David Amos uh I was one of the MPS that he scouted out and came up to my office uh and that came out in the trial of the um man who murdered David Amos um we

Found mock molsoft cocktails with the doorstep notes on my car graffiti sadly is a fairly regular occurrence and that’s a u you know not withstanding the usual abuse that um we get in our inboxes so it has been some lowlevel stuff but also some quite more serious

Attacks on the on me and my office this must be unsettling then to say the least um without being Blas sadly it’s becoming part of the job and it shouldn’t be um too many MPS have had to cope um with physical threats and sadly we’ve seen several of my colleagues lose

Their lives um so it is difficult to uh uh take it in your stride but we it is a fundamental part of our democracy that members of parliament are accept able to our constituents and I wouldn’t want that to change um unfortunately that goes with risks these days um I

Personally like some of my other colleagues were stab vers if I do public events um and sadly that is part for the course these days and it shouldn’t be but the accessibility of members of parliament is a fundamental part of our British democratic tradition I would

Want to see that taken away just very quick question can you do anything to help with your safety I’m sorry I could repeat that could you do anything to improve or or to help with your safety and those of people working in your office well we have um significant

Security in terms of the security doors in terms of CCTV Panic buttons and stab vests uh we don’t do Walkin advice surgeries people do have to identify that they are a constituent in some way to prove that they are a constituent um so we’ve taken all reasonable steps to

Ensure that we are safe and secure uh whilst remaining accessible uh which I say I believe is a fundamental part of our tradition and most members of parliament cherish the fact that they’re accessible to their constituents we just have to be sensible and take reasonable safeguards all right well Mr thank you

Very much indeed for coming on to the program in what is an unsettling time for you I know but thanks very much indeed for your time thank you

Mike Freer, the Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green talks to Sky News after a suspected arson attack at his office.

The fire started around 7pm on Christmas Eve in a shed at the MP’s office in Finchley, north London.

He says ‘sadly its the latest in a long line of incidents at my office’.

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