British soldier under investigation over tweet to Labour MP Angela Rayner saying she will "perish when civil war comes"
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A British soldier is facing investigation over an abusive tweet sent to Labour MP Angela Rayner warning she will "perish when civil war comes".
The tweet, sent from the serving soldier's Twitter account, was sent after shadow education secretary Ms Rayner criticised Attorney General Geoffrey Cox’s performance in the Commons but has since been deleted.
It said: “Ohh f*** off you stupid bitch, c**** like you will perish when civil war comes and its coming. 17.4 million people are gunning for blood if we don't leave.”
This is an unacceptable tweet from a member of the @BritishArmy to @AngelaRayner. This foul language goes against the values of the Armed Forces and is now being investigated by the Army and civilian police https://t.co/LYe4d2PkoF
— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP (@BWallaceMP) September 27, 2019
The message has been branded “unacceptable” by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who said it is now being investigated by both the Army and civilian police.
He tweeted: “This foul language goes against the values of the Armed Forces and is now being investigated by the Army and civilian police.”
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The incident comes amid a row over angry exchanges in Parliament over Brexit that some say are leading to growing numbers of violent threats to MPs.
Lieutenant General Ivan Jones, the commander of the Field Army, tweeted that he would like to "apologise personally" to Ms Rayner and anyone affected by the "appalling" tweet from the soldier's account, saying: “Rest assured this is being dealt with.”
I would like to apologise personally to @AngelaRayner MP and anyone affected by appalling tweets from @GoshawkDaniel, a British soldier. He does not represent the remarkable men and women in @BritishArmy who serve this nation. Rest assured this is being dealt with. @BWallaceMP pic.twitter.com/R4UHz6kU1T
— Lt Gen Ivan Jones - Commander Field Army (@field_army) September 27, 2019
An Army spokesman said: "We are aware of a post made on Twitter in reply to an MP. This incident has been referred to the civilian authorities to investigate.
"The Army is a politically neutral organisation and holds its people to the highest standards."
