London, UK

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday (Feb 25) warned against a growing toxic culture in politics. Sunak's warning came as reports surfaced of members of Parliament receiving security threats for their voting intentions in the House of Commons on the Israel-Gaza conflict. 

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The British PM took to his official social media account on X to issue a statement on Sunday to condemn the hijacking of protests on the streets of the country by extremists to glorify terrorism. 

In the caption of the post, Sunak wrote: "In Parliament this week, a dangerous signal was sent that intimidation works. It is toxic for our society and our politics. It is an affront to the liberties and values we hold dear in Britain. Our democracy cannot and must not bend to the threat of violence and intimidation." 

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The statement came as a report in The Sunday Times newspaper claimed that three unnamed female MPs have been sanctioned additional security after concerns about their safety. 

"The explosion in prejudice and antisemitism since the Hamas attacks on the 7 October [2023] are as unacceptable as they are un-British. Simply put antisemitism is racism," said Sunak in his statement. 

"Legitimate protests hijacked by extremists to promote and glorify terrorism, elected representatives verbally threatened and physically, violently targeted and antisemitic tropes beamed onto our own Parliament building," he said, with reference to an offensive projection on the Palace of Westminster recently.

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"And in Parliament this week a very dangerous signal was sent that this sort of intimidation works. It is toxic for our society and our politics and is an affront to the liberties and values we hold dear here in Britain," he said of the scenes of chaos in the Commons last week over a Gaza ceasefire vote. 

Also read: UK's Conservative Party suspends Tory MP Lee Anderson over 'Islamophobic' remarks

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Tories suspend MP over 'Islamophobic' comments 

Sunak didn't mention a name or make any reference, but his remarks came after the governing Conservatives suspended party MP Lee Anderson after he claimed during an interview that Pakistani-origin London Mayor Sadiq Khan was under the control of "Islamists". 

It comes as occurrences of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism have skyrocketed in the UK amid rising polarisation since the start of the Gaza war last October. 

(With inputs from agencies)