Police investigating suspected arson attack at office of Finchley MP Mike Freer

Police are investigating a suspected arson attack at the office of Conservative MP Mike Freer in north London.

Officers were called to a fire at the constituency office in Finchley at about 7pm on Christmas Eve, with the London Fire Brigade also on the scene.

The Met Police said the fire happened in a shed at the MP's office at Ballards Lane.

The Finchley and Golders Green MP has represented the constituency since 2010 and is parliamentary under-secretary at the Ministry of Justice.

Mr Freer told the PA news agency that the rear of the building is damaged. He said the response from police and the fire brigade was "excellent" and that they were "on site in minutes".

"The police are still investigating and checking out CCTV footage. Until the suspects are caught we won't know the motivation. Luckily no-one was in the office at the time," he added.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said that there were no reports of any injuries.

"The cause of the fire is under investigation as it is believed it may have been started deliberately.

"Further inquiries will take place," a Met spokesman said.

Tory chairman Richard Holden condemned the suspected arson attack, calling it "utterly appalling".

"Thank goodness no-one was injured and glad I was able to speak to one of the long-standing staff members today," he said in a post on social media.

Mr Freer has previously spoken about how he and his staff now wear stab vests and carry mobile panic alarms, following the murder of Sir David Amess.

Finchley and Golders Green Conservatives posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, an image of a badly damaged office space in the aftermath of the fire.

"During this time, responses to messages and emails might not be as prompt as usual and we ask that you bear with us as we endeavour to get back up and running as soon as we can," it said.