Edinburgh MP Joanna Cherry reports fresh 'incident of concern' to police

Joanna Cherry has reported another “incident of concern” to police and stepped up security at her home.

Joanna Cherry has stepped up security at her home after the latest incident

The Edinburgh South-West SNP MP, who was sacked from her front-bench role at Westminster earlier this month, revealed the latest development on social media.

She tweeted: “I’ve spent the morning arranging enhanced security at my home & reporting another incident of concern to police. Unfounded allegations & calls to arms on twitter have consequences & I hope politicians from all parties will bear this in mind.”

Ms Cherry was the SNP’s justice and home affairs spokeswoman in the Commons until a reshuffle on February 1. Soon after her sacking, she reported to the police that she had received a “vicious threat” to her personal safety.

A 30-year-old man was later charged in connection with the incident.

Ms Cherry did not go into detail about the latest incident. Edinburgh Northern and Leith SNP MSP Ben Macpherson was among those to voice his sympathy in response to her tweet. He posted: “Shocking to read this Jo - hope you’re okay and thinking of you.”

Ms Cherry, an MP since 2015, has been at the centre of controversies inside the SNP as a strong advocate of a bolder approach on independence, as well as an outspoken critic of the Scottish Government’s plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow the self-declaration of gender change. She is also a supporter of former First Minister Alex Salmond.

After her sacking, she claimed she had been subjected to n 18-month campaign of abuse she was subjected to due to her support for women's sex-based rights.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.