Police have now made two arrests in connection with online abuse directed against Gina Miller, the leader of the Brexit legal challenge, which was settled by the Supreme Court yesterday.
In December, Met Police officers released a 55-year-old man in Swindon on suspicion of sending racially-aggravated and malicious communications. He was taken to a police station in Wiltshire before being released on bail. On December 3, another man from Fife was issued with a cease and desist notice police said.
On December 7, police additionally issued a cease and desist notice against a 51-year-old man from Inverness-shire. Police did not name Miller as the target of the abuse, referring to her only as a "51-year-old woman" who had received threats online since November 3, the day of the High Court ruling.
In the latest arrest, a man was arrested in connection with a complaint made to police in November. He is currently in custody at a central London police station.
Miller praised the Metropolitan police for the work in an interview with BuzzFeed News but criticised social networks, including Facebook, for not doing enough to cooperate with police.
"They have to take responsibility for the content on their website," she told BuzzFeed. "There has to be monitoring [of content], and they cannot allow people to break the law because, by inference, you could argue they are allowing sexual violence and violence to be incited."
A spokesperson from Facebook told WIRED: "There is absolutely no place on Facebook for such threats. That’s why we have a comprehensive reporting system in place and our teams work around the clock to review content reported by our community, and take further action where necessary. We also work with law enforcement where appropriate to ensure the safety of the people who use Facebook."
The social network also said it is investigating the individual incidents highlighted by Miller.
Twitter searches for racist and sexist terms used against Miller reveal a raft abuse being targeted at the 51-year-old. On Facebook, people commenting on articles about Miller said she should be "hung as a traitor to democracy".
In an interview with the New Statesman, Miller described the racism as “extraordinary”. Miller also said she had consulted with police after a campaign on Facebook called for her to be shot and put in a rubbish bin. “People say things like, ‘She is black and therefore a primate, so we should hunt her down,’” Miller added.
The abuse directed at Miller has been constant since her legal challenge concerning Article 50 reached the High Court last year. Speaking in parliament at the time, Brexit secretary David Davis described the racist and sexist attacks against Miller as “criminal”.
The Supreme Court made a decision on the legal challenge yesterday, ruling that parliament must vote on whether the government can start the Brexit process. This means Theresa May cannot begin talks with the EU until MPs and peers give their backing.
While Miller has been vilified online, judges hearing the case in court have been subjected to abuse by far-right sections of the British media. A Daily Mail frontpage on November 4 described the three judges who made the High Court ruling on Brexit as “enemies of the people”.
On November 3, The Sun introduced Miller to its readers as a “foreign-born multi-millionaire”. Miller is from Guyana but has lived in the UK since she was 10. Asked at the time of the High Court ruling if a white man in the same position would receive the same level of abuse she replied: “The simple answer: absolutely no.”
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
