A man in his 20s has been arrested by police after a suspected arson attack wrecked the constituency office of the Labour MP Sharon Hodgson.
There is little left of the first floor office in the Concord area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, after a fire that took place when it was unoccupied in the early hours of the morning.
Graffiti on the side of the building reads “328 days blood on your hands”, although it is believed to have been there for as long as a year.
A No 10 spokesperson condemned the attack: “There is absolutely no place for this kind of violence in our society. All those involved in our democratic process should be able to go about their vital work freely and with confidence.”
A spokesperson for Hodgson, the MP for Washington and Gateshead South, said she would “not be deterred” and would continue to support her constituents.
Northumbria police said they were alerted to the fire at 12.20am on Thursday. They said: “Emergency services attended and no one is reported to have been injured in the incident. A man in his 20s has subsequently been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and arson. He remains in police custody at this time.”
Hodgson has been the area’s MP since 2005. A spokesperson said: “An incident occurred overnight at Sharon’s office. We will not be commenting or speculating while there is an ongoing police investigation. What we are clear on is there is no place for this kind of violence in our society.
“Sharon will not be deterred and will continue to support her constituents in Washington and Gateshead South as she does day in, day out. Constituents should get in touch with their issues by emailing in the usual way.”
The fire was at Vermont House, which is also the UK base for a small charity Niemann-Pick UK (NP UK), which supports patients and families with an extremely rare and life-limiting group of genetic diseases.
NP UK’s head of communications, John Lee Taggart, said it was suspected that the fire had started in shared bins. “We have been told by the landlord that there’s not much left,” he said. “We have been in operation for 34 years and it is going to be really hard to recover. This is a vital service and we are a small charity.”
On its Facebook page, the charity said: “We have been dealing with threats, graffiti and demonstrations targeted at the MP in our office complex for many months, and this appears to be the culmination, although nothing concrete has been ascertained as of yet.”
The building is near the A195 and businesses including a Kwik Fit, a Halfords Autocentre and a National Tyres branch. One man said he arrived for work at 7.45am and there were “stacks” of police, but he had no idea the MP had an office there.
Aerial images taken using a drone show the charred, destroyed roof of much of the building.
At the height of the blaze there were seven crews tackling the fire, a spokesperson for Tyne and Wear fire and rescue service said.
They added: “The emergency call was received by our control room at 00.12, and the first crew arrived on Woodland Terrace in Concord within four minutes.
“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used jets and a hose reel to extinguish the fire and worked alongside blue-light colleagues to make the scene safe. No casualties were reported.”
The Tyne and Wear chief fire officer, Peter Heath, said: “I want to commend our crews for their swift and professional response to this serious incident. Their actions ensured the fire was contained quickly and safely, with no reported casualties. We continue to work closely with our partners as investigations progress.”
Parliamentary colleagues of Hodgson sent their best wishes.
In a parliamentary debate, the Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the thoughts of the whole house were with the MP: “I think particularly in light of international events, and the tragic loss of colleagues, this all the more underlines why we must have security and safety to go about democratic debate in this country, whatever our views, in a safe and secure way.”
On Facebook, the City of Durham Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy wrote: “Sending love and support to my friend Sharon Hodgson MP and her team today after another attack on their office building.
“After the shocking murder of a political influencer mere hours ago in the US, MPs in the UK woke to scenes of one of our colleagues’ offices being targeted. No matter which part of the political spectrum you fall into – this is intimidation by thugs and they must face the full force of the law.
“Serious thought needs to be given to how this impacts staff in constituency offices, like Sharon’s, who frankly work their arses off every day to support local people.
“Anyone supporting this type of violence toward MPs and their teams needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.”
