Yorkshire-based lawyer calls for MP to be "dragged through the streets" and "lynched"

The comment is written in response to a post by the Conservative mayor explaining his reasons for accepting a place in the House of Lords after the publication of Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.

Referring to the ongoing investigation into governance and finances at the South Tees Development Corporation and its partner company Teesworks Ltd, Mr Lindsay wrote that, “If it turns out the enquiry concludes ‘there’s nothing to be seen here,’ and in the meantime some investment and jobs are lost, local Labour MP, Andy McDonald, (who has refused to repeat his allegations outside of Parliament) should be dragged through the streets of Teesside and lynched.”

McDonald had alleged in Parliament that there was “industrial scale corruption” taking place on the redevelopment project at the enormous site of the former Redcar steelworks.

When approached by The Yorkshire Post, Mr Lindsay said that, “on reflection, that my use of words was injudicious,” and that he had not intended to be taken literally.

Following the murder of MP Sir David Amess in October 2021, Mr Lindsay tweeted: “What a lovely man #DavidAmess was… Words have consequences. Hate will never triumph over love.”

When asked about this tweet, Mr Lindsay responded by mentioning reports of an industrial project moving from Teesside to Tyneside and that jobs were “being lost because of the ‘corruption claim’” by Andy McDonald.

“So, clearly words can have consequences,” he said.

There have been local reports that Global Interconnection Group - a company that manufactures undersea electricity cables - intends to move its planned new factory from Teesside to the Port of Tyne. The company says: “There is no final decision made on site location.”

It was hoped the project would bring £600m of investment into the area and create 800 jobs.

Morton Legal did not respond to a request for comment, although it’s understood that they are undertaking an internal investigation of the social media posts.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that they were made aware of a post on LinkedIn relating to a serving MP on Tuesday 4th July.

A spokesperson for the Met said: “The contents were assessed and it was deemed it did not meet the criminal threshold for an offence.

“We take the safety and security of MPs extremely seriously and our Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team works with colleagues from local police forces through the Operation Bridger network and the Parliamentary Security Department to provide MPs and their constituency teams.”

Andy McDonald said: “My family has to read this. It’s not the first death threat or expression of violence meted out to me, but two of my colleagues have been murdered.

“Someone of his vintage and experience ought to think very carefully about making these sorts of statements. By all means disagree with me, but threatening to hang me is beyond the pale.”