New MP from Leicester leaves House of Commons over ‘potential death threat’

A new independent MP who claimed in his winning speech that “this is for Gaza” missed the aid announcement in parliament because of “a possible death threat”.

Shockat Adam, MP for Leicester South, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that he welcomed the government’s decision to resume funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees.

Mr Adam said he could not attend the announcement “as I am facing a possible death threat”.

He wrote: “I welcome the government’s move to finally restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after the Conservatives abruptly withdrew it, denying Palestinians life-saving aid.”

He continued: “Unfortunately, I could not be in the courtroom today because I was faced with a possible death threat.

“I would like to thank Leicestershire and Cambridgeshire Police for their professional, prompt and courteous assistance in dealing with this incident.

“Aggressive behaviour towards me and my family is commonplace, but I can assure my constituents that it will not deter me from my duties.”

Leicestershire Police have been contacted for comment. Cambridgeshire Police could not be contacted.

Mr Adam won Leicester South by less than 1,000 votes, defeating Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth, the former shadow minister for work and pensions.

Mr Ashworth had held the seat since 2011 and defended a majority of 22,675 votes as of 2019.

The British Foreign Office suspended funding to UNRWA in January because of allegations that the organization’s staff were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

Mr Lammy told the House of Commons that the Government was reassured that, following an independent review, UNRWA was ensuring compliance with neutrality standards and strengthening its procedures, including security clearance.

Restoring funding to UNRWA was one of several demands relating to Gaza set out by Mr Adam and four other independent MPs, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, in a letter to the Foreign Secretary on Monday.