Rishi Sunak has been urged to do more to tackle celebrity misogynists, with an SNP MP comparing them to "hate preachers."
During Prime Minster’s Questions, Alison Thewliss said she had been called “a f**king parasite, a rat, and a piece of s**t” after she questioned whether ex-mobster Michael Franzese should be allowed to perform in Glasgow.
The talk on Sunday from the former mafia boss linked to Andrew Tate in response was cancelled after protests supported by the Glasgow Central MP.
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Ms Thewliss told MPs: “In the wee small hours of Saturday morning I received an email, and I apologise for my language, calling me ‘a f****** parasite’, ‘a rat’ and ‘a piece of shit’.
“This came in response to my challenging the appropriateness of a US citizen Michael Franzese who is doing a tour in the UK, and as part of that tour advocating publicly for the self-proclaimed misogynist influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are encouraging toxic attitudes among young men in this country.
“Can I ask the Prime Minister, who has spoken about banning hate preachers from entering the UK, if he’ll extend this to misogynists?”
Mr Sunak replied: “Those who seek to divide us undermine our values and indeed intimidate and threaten others, have no place in our society and we will not hesitate to use not just the full force of the law, but also our immigration regime to make sure we have security and cohesion in this country.”
Since leaving jail Mr Franzese, who was convicted of racketeering, has made a career out of talking about his life in the mafia.
Both Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are awaiting trial in Romania on charges of rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
Last week Mr Franzese published a picture of him meeting them.
He posted: “These are good men. The accusations against them are fabricated by those offended by truth. I speak from experience. They will be vindicated.”
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