Gardaí in Cork have arrested a British national this morning for questioning about alleged threats to kill a female Labour MP.
Officers from the Special Detective Units in both Cork and Dublin, backed up by members of the Cork Armed Support Unit arrested the 41-year-old man in Douglas on Cork’s southside this morning.
Up to 15 gardai were involved when they moved to arrest the man at his rented apartment around 7.30am and brought him to the Bridewell Garda station for questioning about the threats to the Labour MP.
It is understood gardaí were alerted by British police to the suspect. It came after a person phoned the MP and is alleged to have threatened to kill her on October 18th.
The incident came just three days after Tory MP Sir David Amess was killed.
Sir David Amess, a Conservative MP for Southend West, died after being stabbed while holding a constituency clinic at Belfairs Methodist Church Hall on Leighton-on-sea in Essex on October 15th.
A 25-year-old man, Ali Harbi Ali was arrested following the attack on Sir David Amess and he has since been charged by the British police with murder and the preparation of terrorist acts.
Five years ago, on June 16th 2016 Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Jo Cox (41) was fatally shot and stabbed outside a library at Birstall in West Yorkshire as she was about to hold a constituency clinic.
A white supremacist, Thomas Mair, who shouted 'Britain First', as he attacked Ms Cox- was later jailed for life for the murder of Ms Cox after a seven day trial at the Old Bailey in November 2016.
The man arrested in Cork on Saturday has been taken to the Bridewell Garda station in the city centre and is detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows him to be held for up to 24 hours for questioning.
