THE office of Cardiff MP Jo Stevens has been vandalised following her vocal support for asylum seekers.
The Shadow Justice Minister last week condemned Lynx House on Newport Road for forcing asylum seekers to wear wristbands to claim food. The following day someone drew a sniper target on her picture at Labour’s Albany Road office.
The Cardiff Central MP, who was elected for the first time in May, said: “Staff came in on Tuesday morning and someone had drawn a bullet target over my face. The police have been involved and we have stepped up security.
“You can either think ‘I won’t say anything anymore because I’m really scared’ or you can say ‘this is one person and I am not going let them stop me standing up’.”
The police have been involved and security has been stepped up. But Mrs Stevens, who ran her election campaign on being accessible to constituents, may have to rethink how she operates.
She said: “The police have been fantastic but my first consideration obviously is for the staff here because I was in Westminster.
“The awful thing is when I got elected I wanted to be accessible and visible. If anyone needs help, they know where I am and can come and get it. People can drop in at anytime but obviously with something like this you have to step back and think ‘can we carry on operating like that, do we need to change how we work?’”
Last Monday night’s attack is thought to be a direct result of Jo Stevens’ involvement in helping the Lynx House asylum seekers. Mrs Stevens however, insists it is not reflective of Cardiff as a whole.
“The vast majority of Cardiff is such a welcoming city, we are built on immigration,” she said.
“I have had examples of people who are consultant neurologists and government lawyers. People who had very stable lives and were very wealthy in the context of the Syrian economy and they are coming here to live in a hostel on Newport Road. They are not coming here to scrounge benefits.
“I got a lot of feedback from constituents and from outside saying ‘thank you very much for raising this, we think this is a very concerning issue.’”
The Welsh Refugee Council said: “We are saddened to hear reports that Jo Stevens MP has been targeted for standing up for asylum seekers’ rights. In the current political climate it takes a brave politician to challenge the prevailing narrative and Jo has certainly been vocal in highlighting the plight of asylum seekers within her constituency.
“An open and informed debate is essential to an effective response to the challenges posed by migration but acts of violence and vandalism do not bring anything constructive, persuasive or positive to our society’s conversation on migration or the refugee crisis.”
Sergeant Jeff Lewis, from Cathays Police Station, said: “On Tuesday, January 26 South Wales Police attended an office on Albany Road, Cardiff, following a report of criminal damage to a window. The graffiti has been removed and there have been no further issues.”
The picture of Jo Stevens has now been removed from the Albany Road office.
