A local MP has been subjected to what Thames Valley Police has described as “hate crime” on social media.
A comment from a member of the public directed at Yuan Yang, the Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, appeared in response to a Facebook post on a page belonging to Pauline Jorgensen over the weekend.
She is the leader of the Conservative group on Wokingham borough council, and stood as her party’s candidate in Earley and Woodley in last year’s general election.
The comment, which has since been deleted, referred to the MP being spotted in Lower Earley, and said: “I held back and didn’t assassinate her.”
A spokesperson for the MP confirmed they were aware of the comments, and that according to security processes in place for all MPs offices, they are required to liaise with the police when threats are reported.
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police told Wokingham Today: “We received a report of a hate crime against Yuan Yang, the member of parliament for Earley and Woodley.
“We carried out a thorough investigation, and quickly identified the offender.
“On the same day, the offender was visited by officers, and he agreed to remove the post.
“The offender was given a community resolution, and will apologise to MP Yang in writing.
“We have engaged with MP Yang’s office throughout our investigation and they are happy with the actions we have taken and the outcome.
“Hate crime is deplorable. Thames Valley Police will always investigate such offences thoroughly and seek a resolution which the victim is happy with.”
A spokesperson for Ms. Jorgensen confirmed the offensive post was removed, and the individual had been banned from posting future comments on her page.
“We condemn these comments in the strongest possible way,” the spokesperson added.
Last weekend’s incident comes in light of Operation Bridger, a nationwide police protection security programme that offers MPs access to extra security in their homes and constituency offices.
It was established in 2016 in the wake of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was killed at a constituency surgery.
