A man in his 20s has been arrested following a suspected arson attack on the constituency office of Labour MP Sharon Hodgson in Washington, Tyne and Wear. The fire, which broke out in the early hours of Thursday, destroyed the first-floor office at Vermont House in the Concord area. No one was injured as the building was unoccupied at the time.
Northumbria Police said they were alerted to the fire at 12.20am and that a man had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and arson. He remains in police custody. Graffiti reading “328 days blood on your hands” was visible on the side of the building, though it is believed to have been there for up to a year.
A spokesperson for Hodgson, MP for Washington and Gateshead South since 2005, said she would “not be deterred” and would continue to support her constituents. The attack was condemned by a No 10 spokesperson, who said there was “no place for this kind of violence in our society”.
The fire also severely damaged the offices of Niemann-Pick UK, a small charity supporting patients with rare genetic diseases. Its head of communications, John Lee Taggart, said the fire was suspected to have started in shared bins and that recovery would be “really hard”. The charity had previously reported threats and graffiti targeting the MP.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said seven crews tackled the blaze, which was contained quickly. Chief fire officer Peter Heath commended crews for their swift response. The incident comes amid heightened concern for politicians’ safety following the murder of a political influencer in the US.
