Tory MP calls police after receiving poison pen letter threatening to kill him and boyfriend

A gay Tory MP has contacted the police after receiving a poison pen letter threatening to kill him and his boyfriend.

Elliot Colburn, the 28-year-old MP for Carshalton and Wallington, shared an image of the message on Twitter and said he had informed officers.

The politician, who is openly gay and dates a councillor on Sutton Council, refused to let the individual stop him or his family ‘standing up’ for his local area in London.

The letter reads: ‘F***ing Tory scum. You and your f*g boyfriend should watch your backs. Enjoy your time you smug p***k you ain’t got many left. Rar coming for you.’

Elliot Colburn (right), MP for Carshalton and Wallington, contacted the police after receiving a poison pen letter threatening to kill him and his boyfriend Jed Dwight (both pictured above)

The MP hit back, saying: ‘Sounds like a charming individual.

‘I will not let threats to me or my family stop me standing up for Carshalton and Wallington. The police have been informed.’

Mr Colburn became one of the country’s youngest MPs when he won a seat in the 2019 General Election, ousting stalwart Tom Brake who had held the seat for 22 years.

He grew up in Sutton and has attended Boys’ Sports College, campaigning for the Conservative Party since the age of 13, before working as an assistant for the Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Scully.

Colburn was a Conservative candidate in the 2014 Sutton Council election for Wallington North ward, and came fourth.

His boyfriend, Jed Dwight, is also a councillor for the same council and the pair are often pictured campaigning together.

Celebrating LGBT history month at an event in Sutton in 2019, Mr Colburn said: ‘Meeting with people from across the area, we discussed how far we’ve come, how far we’ve got to go and why it is still important to mark LGBT History Month.

‘As someone who helped set up the original Sutton LGBT Forum, I am delighted to see the forum thriving.

The politician, who is openly gay and dates a councillor on Sutton Council, shared an image of the letter (above) on Twitter and said he had informed officers

The MP hit back, writing: ‘Sounds like a charming individual’, and refusing to let the threats stop him or his family ‘standing up’ for his local area

‘It is important that LGBT people have a safe place to go in our borough and be with their peers.

‘Being openly gay, I am proud to be representing a party that introduced same-sex marriage, and I support the government’s efforts in introducing the LGBT Action Plan and reforming the Gender Recognition Act.’

And he added: ‘LGBT History Month is a time to celebrate the more tolerant society we live in, but also to recognise that there is still more to do.

‘I am pleased to support The Forum @ Sutton LGBTQ+ to do our bit here in Carshalton and Wallington.’

Social media users and fellow politicians responded to the tweet, branding the homophobic abuse as ‘dreadful’ and ‘disgraceful’. 

Social media users and fellow politicians responded to the tweet, with the LGB Alliance writing: ‘We have so much work to do to eradicate homophobia from society’

The LGB Alliance said: ‘So sorry you were targeted by this vile homophobic abuse. We have so much work to do to eradicate homophobia from society.’  

Owen Jones wrote: ‘Solidarity Elliot, that’s really horrific’.

Tory MP Conor Burns said: ‘Dreadful. I get them occasionally. Always strikes me how much more work there is to do to teach punctuation in schools!’

Jane Stevenson MP added: ‘Disgraceful abuse, Elliot. I hope the police can track them down.’

MailOnline has contacted the Met Police for comment.