Gay MP offers to sit down with vandals who painted homophobic graffiti on his office
The graffiti accused gay MP Luke Pollard of being a “pedo”. (Luke Pollard/ Twitter)
A gay MP in Plymouth has offered to “sit down and talk” with the person who spray painted homophobic graffiti on the front of his office.
Luke Pollard, the Labour MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, had his city-centre vandalised today (October 27) with the words “Pollard is a pedo” in red paint. His office was also vandalised earlier this week.
He posted a picture of the graffiti on Twitter, and wrote: “My office was vandalised again this morning. There is no place for hate and abuse in Plymouth.
“As our city’s first openly gay MP I sometimes receive hate based on who I love but I know those who peddle hate do not speak for the vast, vast majority of our city.”
My office was vandalised again this morning. There is no place for hate and abuse in #plymouth. As our city’s first openly gay MP I sometimes receive hate based on who I love but I know those who peddle hate do not speak for the vast, vast majority of our city. pic.twitter.com/oYGkte8mtO
— Luke Pollard (@LukePollard) October 27, 2019
He then posted a video addressing the person behind the abuse, with the caption: “There is no place for hate and abuse in our city, our politics or our country. That means we must all do our part to call it out but we must also seek to build bridges and not walls.
“That’s why I want to sit down with the person who vandalised my office to talk.”
In the video he added: “So I want you to know that the offer is sincere. Let’s sit down and talk about your concerns.
“If you’re angry enough to vandalise an office, let’s see if you’re brave enough to sit down and have that conversation.”
There is no place for hate and abuse in our city, our politics or our country. That means we must all do our part to call it out but we must also seek to build bridges and not walls. That’s why I want to sit down with the person who vandalised my office to talk. #plymouth pic.twitter.com/gHCAVXHPYj— Luke Pollard (@LukePollard) October 27, 2019
He thanked those in the local community who had got in touch or dropped into his office to offer their support.
According to Metro, in July this year a man was jailed after threatening to rape the staff in the MP’s office. Pollard told the newspaper that he refused to be silenced.
He also confirmed on Twitter that the incident had been reported to the police, and said that Plymouth City Council acted quickly to remove the graffiti.
