A Labour MP has said she has been “bombarded” with rape and death threats after speaking out against the “toxic” influence Andrew Tate had over schoolboys.
Alex Davies-Jones received abuse via email and directly to her office, soon after she raised the issue at prime minister’s question’s earlier this month. At the time, the shadow technology minister told MPs: “Teachers are now having to develop their own resources to re-educate boys who are being brainwashed online by his deeply toxic messaging.”
Davies-Jones went on to criticise Rishi Sunak for being “too slow to recognise the damage this is causing”.
“What has he done?” she asked. “What is his government doing to tackle this misogyny? This incel culture? And the radicalisation of young men in this country?
“Will he [Sunak] commit to giving teachers the resources they need to address this problem head on?”
But speaking during a Commons debate on neighbourhood policing on Tuesday, the MP for Pontypridd said: “I’d like to put on record my own thanks to … all of the local police in my south Wales area who have been an immense support to me in the recent weeks after I have spoken out about the horrendous abuse and behaviour of Andrew Tate online.
“As a result, my own inbox and my office have been bombarded with death threats, rape threats.”
Davies-Jones fears not all victims will get the same “brilliant” response time from police as she did.
Tate, a former kickboxing world champion, amassed millions of followers across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok for his divisive content. He is now facing allegations of human trafficking and being part of an organised crime gang. He denies the allegations.
Following his arrest in Romania, he will remain in detention until late February after a judge granted a request to extend his detention by 30 days for a second time.
