Mayor 'threatened' and 'followed' while canvassing

The Mayor of the West Midlands has said he was "threatened" and then "followed" by an aggressive member of the public while out campaigning in Coventry.

Richard Parker, who represents the Labour Party, had been door-knocking in the Henley ward when the incident happened.

He said: "He approached me from his house. I was on the pavement, I didn't encroach on his property, I was just walking past his house and he confronted me and threatened me.

"He said I shouldn't be there, I wasn't welcome there, and we, as Labour Party campaigners, were trespassing and had no right to be in that part of Coventry."

Parker continued: "He then proceeded to approach me, get closer to me. I tried to engage with him but not get too close.

"The others witnessed it from about 10 or 15 yards away and were concerned for my well being."

He said his fellow campaigners were worried he could be at "threat from physical violence".

The man then reportedly began following the mayor and the campaigners down the road, hurling more abuse at them.

Parker said: "We saw him at various other points when we were out campaigning in that ward during the hour.

"I was fine, but it did have an impact on some of the people I was with. My real concern is people like that, behaving like that, may put people off campaigning.

"There's no doubt it was intimidating and it's bad news for our democracy."

The incident has been reported to West Midlands Police, who said: "We have received a report of aggressive behaviour made towards people out canvassing for the local election in Coventry this afternoon.

"Inquiries are ongoing."

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