MP forced to spend £2,000 on bodyguards after 'constant trolling' as Rowling shows support
Both Rosie Duffield and JK Rowling have clashed with transgender activists on frequent occasions in recent years.
Labour’s Rosie Duffield, who has clashed with transgender activists frequently over her defence of women's rights and female-only spaces, has said she is not attending local hustings as a result of what she called "constant trolling".
And the 52-year-old has tweeted a message of support from Harry Potter author JK Rowling - who told one of the MP's critics to “get to f***”.
Speaking earlier this week, Ms Duffield, who is standing for the Canterbury seat she won in 2017, said she has so far spent £2,000 on bodyguards while campaigning.
In a statement shared on X on Friday, she said: "The constant trolling, spite and misrepresentation from certain people, having built up over a number of years and being pursued with a new vigour during this election, is now affecting my sense of security and wellbeing.
"The result is now that I feel unable to be focused on giving a clear presentation of the Labour Party's manifesto commitments."
After an X post by one Twitter user calling themselves The Rascal King of Gregging which accused Ms Duffield of being “p*** scared of a public forum”, Rowling responded: “When you've had years of death and rape threats, physical intimidation, the necessity of hiring your own personal security and a total absence of support from your party, you can show us all what bravery looks like. A lesser woman wouldn't still be fighting. Oh, and get to f***.”
Ms Duffield retweeted Rowling’s post.
A Labour Party spokesperson described the right to campaign as a "vital" aspect of British democracy.
The spokesperson added: "It is vital to our democracy that prospective parliamentary candidates are able to campaign freely," the spokesperson said.
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"We completely condemn any intimidation tactics towards candidates of any party."
Ms Duffield, who believes that self-identification threatens women's rights to female-only spaces, previously claimed that she has been given the cold shoulder by Labour leadership over her views on trans issues.
Last month, Ms Duffield complained that Sir Keir Starmer offered her "no apology" when the two finally spoke after she told a whip she had not been talked to in two and a half years.
Sir Keir previously criticised the would-be MP's claim that "only women have a cervix", but later told ITV's Good Morning Britain that "biologically, she of course is right about that" and called for an end to "toxic" debates on gender.
The remarks likewise drew the ire of Rowling, who accused him of having a "brass neck".
Earlier this month an internet troll who posted "chilling" online messages threatening to kill both Rowling and Ms Duffield was spared jail.
Glenn Mullen, 31, of Clyde Road, Manchester, uploaded audio clips in Gaelic threatening to kill Ms Rowling "with a big hammer" and said he was "going to see Rosie Duffield at the bar with a big gun", Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.
The Labour Party has been approached for comment.
