Jim Murphy over eggs it.

Poor Labour MP Jim Murphy has suspended his much vaunted sparsely-attended tour of 100 Scottish street corners a pro-union speaking tour of Scotland for 72 hours because of "escalating intimidation" the Better Together campaign claims comes from Yes Scotland groups.

"What is happening is that the yes campaign is now organising to create a mob atmosphere at our street meetings. It's co-ordinated, it's determined and it's increasingly aggressive," Murphy said."What started as individual passionate nationalists having their say has changed into angry mobs of nation

One of the most active senior pro-union campaigners, Labour's former Scottish secretary and MP for East Renfrewshire has swapped the traditional soap box for a stack of Irn Bru crates which he has been setting up in high streets and town squares across the country. Initially the response to his appearances was curious and good-humoured.

But Murphy said that something fundamental had changed since the first television debate on the referendum. At a press conference on Friday, Murphy screened YouTube footage of ugly scenes at recent meetings in Wishaw, Dundee and Motherwell. The films show him being called a "quisling", "traitor", "war criminal" and an apologist for apartheid by independence supporters. Murphy was pelted with eggs on Thursday at an event in Kirkcaldy town centre.

"This isn't about half a dozen eggs," Murphy insisted. "That's part of the sometimes messy pantomine of politics

Whilst deploring such behaviour Mr Murphy appears to be over egging  his case .

Indeed  Mr Murphy's biggest problem seems that he has only been attracting space crowd of YES supporters 

Mr Murphy indeed seems to be relishing conflict but the rant he embarks on when asked a question by a lady in the crowd about Gordon Brown’s "disgraceful lies over organ transplants" was hardly the response of s Statesman 

And whilst it is ridiculous to suggest that the egg throwing was a Unionist set up. It increasingly looks like  Mr Murphy has set himself  as bait, in order that  Better Together  reeling after Alistair Darlings drubbing in the last TV debate  and gleefully revise the whole Cybernats  controversy.

Indeed it looks like  The Daily Mal have been priming themselves for this with

 Cybernats unmasked: Meet the footsoldiers of pro-Scottish independence 'army' whose online poison shames the Nationalists

This includes an attack on Wings Over Scotland Blogger Stuart Campbell who has made a major contribution to the debate but can hardly be accused of crossing the line.

What we have here is singling out  Trolls who use the Net to abuse people and calling some of them "Cybernats" whilst ignoring equally abusive behaviour on the other side.

But it seems from here that Murphy

Either deliberately set out o encourage such a reaction from the "Nats"

Was shocked to find the lack of support on the ground from the Unionist NO side

or was severely shocked with the reaction to his Irn Bru box oratory  and feared for his safety.

Maybe he will claim that  the news that  Controversial Respect MP George Galloway has been taken to hospital for treatment to a suspected broken jaw after he was attacked in the street justifies his decision to call suspend his street corner tour?

Mr Galloway, who has also suffered a suspected broken rib and severe bruising to his face and head, was posing for pictures with people in Golborne Road, Notting Hill, west London, when a man shouted a comment about the Holocaust and attacked him, according to the spokesman.

Indeed  maybe there should be a prize for the first "Better Together"  spokesman to connect the two?

Update  thanks to  Y Cneifiwr I have ben directed  written account of one of Jim Murphy's soapbox sessions by Ray MacRobbie on his blog Still Raining, Still Dreaming. which may help you with deciding on Murphy actions.