Three Mayors have spoken out in support of the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev. Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, following news that she received a death threat after commenting on the way in which Boris Johnson, supported Dominic Cummings' decision to travel from London to Durham at the height of the coronavirus lockdown.

Current Mayor of Harrogate and former Ripon City Mayor, Councillor Stuart Martin, along with Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin and three-times mayor of the city, Councillor Pauline McHardy, were united in their condemnation after Dr Hartley received an email  which read 'stay out of politics, or it will be the death of you'.

Cllr Martin, whose wife, April  is recovering well after being seriously ill and hospitalised with coronavirus, told The Stray Ferret:

Cllr Parkin said:

Those sentiments were echoed by three-times Ripon Mayor and Harrogate District Councillor Pauline McHardy, who added:

While civic leaders in Ripon spoke out in support of Dr Hartley, constituency MP Julian Smith remains quiet. He was approached by The Stray Ferret yesterday morning and again this morning for his reaction to the threat made to the bishop and also asked whether he feels that Mr Cummings should be dismissed or allowed to stay on as senior adviser to the Prime Minister.

More than a quarter of Yorkshire's 26 Conservative MPs have called for Boris Johnson to dismiss Mr Cummings - including Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.



The death threats to Dr Hartley and at least two other Church of England bishops, have been reported to the police and she told The Stray Ferret that she had never previously received a death threat, felt frightened and thought about  the late Jo Cox MP, who was murdered in the street outside her Batley and Spen constituency office in June 2016.

We contacted the Bishop's office and, at the time of going to press, she had not been contacted personally by Julian Smith.