Death threat to Labour Parliamentary candidate

Date published: 12 January 2007

Following the revelation that one of the leading contenders to be selected as the Labour Parliamentary candidate for Rochdale, Simon Danczuk, has received death threats, Rochdale MP Paul Rowen has condemned the threats as "disgraceful" and said "this sort of behaviour should play no part in politics in Rochdale or elsewhere." 

Mr Danczuk, one of the eight short-listed Labour candidates to stand in Rochdale to fight the next General Election, reported that as well as the death threats he has also been sent funeral flowers in attempt to persuade him to stand down.

Paul Rowen MP said: "This is highly worrying and I hope that the police fully investigate and prosecute whoever is responsible.  This sort of behaviour should play no part in politics and I feel for Simon and his wife.  As he is not from Rochdale I do not know the man, but feel that this sort of sinister behaviour should not play a part in politics and Simon’s attempts to become Parliamentary Candidate for Rochdale should not be derailed by this disgraceful, disgusting attack – that will not do the Labour Party any credit."

Conservative Councillor Ian Duckworth is a local politican who has in the past been on the receiving end of death threats, he said: "I hope Simon Danczuk wasn't too distressed by the death threat. Having received them in the past, I assumed they were par for the course in public life. 

"I served for two and a half  years in Northern Ireland and learned that people who wanted to kill you didn't  usually send advanced notice.