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Rosie Duffield’s ‘fried or lazy’ criticism is extremely unfair, says Wes Streeting

Posted on by angelo
Rosie Duffield’s ‘fried or lazy’ criticism is extremely unfair, says Wes Streeting

Former EastEnders actor and Labor MEP Lord Cashman apologized after commenting on a social media post about Ms Duffield’s decision: “Frit. Or lazy.”

This came after Ms Duffield, a Labor general election candidate and advocate for women’s rights and women’s spaces, said her participation in local election campaigns was “impossible” due to “constant trolling “.

Shadow Health Secretary Mr Streeting told Times Radio on Sunday: “I strongly disagree with Michael (Cashman).

“This is extremely unfair and I was very concerned that Rosie would not be able to take part in election campaigns and would have to change the way she behaves because of the abuse.

“This is completely intolerable and unacceptable, just like the abuse Nigel Farage suffered.

“I consider Michael and Rosie friends and this is exactly the kind of division that I have worked very hard to try to overcome and heal.”

Wes Streeting, Shadow Health Secretary
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting criticized Lord Cashman’s comments about Rosie Duffield (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Ms Duffield, who is running for the Canterbury seat on July 4, said last week the “extremely difficult decision” to cancel local election campaigns had been taken because the “actions of a few obsessed individuals” had affected her “feeling of safety and well-being”.

She told The Times earlier in the week that she had spent £2,000 on bodyguards during her campaign.

The debate comes amid renewed focus on abuse of politicians on the eighth anniversary of Jo Cox’s murder.

The Labor MP for Batley and Spen was stabbed and shot dead by a far-right extremist in Birstall, West Yorkshire, on June 16, 2016.

The Jo Cox Foundation, set up in his memory, condemned violence against candidates after Britain’s Reform leader Mr Farage was attacked, including with a milkshake.

Ms Duffield, who believes self-identification threatens women’s rights to access women-only spaces, previously claimed she had been given a cold shoulder by the Labor leadership because of her views on trans issues.

Last month she complained that Sir Keir Starmer offered her “no apologies” when the two men finally spoke after he told a whip he had not been spoken to for two and a half years.