'You should be hung for treason': Sunderland MP speaks of abuse as she reveals how she will vote on Brexit deal

Washington and Sunderland West Labour MP Sharon Hodgson and Shadow Minister for Public Health Sharon Hodgson has said she plans to vote against the Prime Minister's proposal for the UK's withdrawal from the European Union when it is held in the House of Parliament next Tuesday.

It comes after she addressed the house during a debate this week - she had been due to speak in the debate before Christmas recess, but it was suspended when the PM delayed her vote on the Brexit deal.

During the speech Mrs Hodgson spoke about the abuse that some MPs have been receiving, including some directed at her in recent days and set out her reasons for voting against the Prime Minister’s deal when it is brought before the House next week.

Mrs Hodgson said she had been sent a threat which said she should be hung and was a traitor for signing a letter which raised concerns about what could happen if there is no deal.

She said: "Although I campaigned and voted to Remain in the European Union in the referendum, I have set out to respect the result of that vote and taken great care to listen to the concerns of my constituents as the process unfolds.

"I cannot in good conscience vote for the Prime Minister’s deal, which in my mind represents the failure of her Governments approach to the negotiations.

"It does not protect jobs, workplace rights or environmental standards. It will not ensure frictionless trade for UK businesses and the lack of a clear future relationship also means the Northern Ireland backstop is highly likely to come into place, which would have significant implications across the UK.

"Hundreds of my constituents have written to me in recent weeks urging me to vote against the deal, both those who voted to leave the EU and those who voted to remain.

"Almost nothing of what was promised during the referendum campaign has been delivered and as such I will be voting against the Prime Minister’s Deal next week."

She also told the House of Commons: "It was just brought to my attention details of a threat that I've just received calling me a traitor who should be hung for treason."Now this threat isn't even made anonymously, it's made very publicly, traceably, and the man - as I believe it is a man, I've seen a photograph of him - who made it must know that it's public and easily traceable, which makes this change in our national and political discourse all the more worrying."Ms Hodgson said her "crime" was to sign a letter warning against leaving the EU without a deal.

She was one of 213 MPs across the parties raising concerns.

She also said: "Two years ago, over 62% of people in Sunderland voted to leave the European Union.

"That is an average across the three Sunderland constituencies.

"My canvassing told me at the time that the vote in my constituency may have been more in the region of 65% to 67%.

"The fact that - as I am sure you know, Mr Speaker - Nissan, the most productive car plant in the whole of Europe, is in my constituency explains why that first result on results night had the impact that it did on all of us, not just the three Sunderland MPs.

"I campaigned and voted to remain in the European Union, and did so because I believed that it was the best decision for the security, social cohesion and economy of the North East and the country as a whole.

"Despite this, I recognised that a majority of my constituents had voted to leave, and I set out to respect the result of the referendum.

"In that vein, I have largely refrained from commenting publicly on Brexit or speaking about it here - check Hansard - choosing instead to listen to my constituents to understand the result, the vote.

"So I ran two surveys on Brexit. I took great care to read all of the significant amount of correspondence I received on the topic.

"I held three large public meetings. I engaged regularly with major employers in my constituency, such as Nissan, Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and others, to hear their concerns about the process as it has unfolded over the past two years.

"Many of these companies, in particular, have been unnecessarily placed in a position by this Government where they are already spending vast sums of money on preparations for a no-deal scenario—something that none of us here will ever allow to happen."

The full text of her speech in the House of Commons can be found here: https://bit.ly/2Cb4UDB