A FORMER Cheshire MP has 'threatened legal action' after an academic named her as a descendant of a merchant with links to the slave trade.

Antoinette Sandbach, MP for Eddisbury from 2015 to 2019, was named research carried out by Malik Al Nasir, an academic at the University of Cambridge.

The poet and author, who is a PhD history student at St Catharine’s College, said in a TEDx Talk video published in 2021 that Ms Sandbach is a relative of Samuel Sandbach, who was in a partnership that traded with the West Indies and owned slaves.

It is understood Ms Sandbach believes the mention of her name violated her right to privacy and that she had been singled out as a politician.

She is said to have asked to be removed from the research and has threatened to sue the university.

Mr Al Nasir, of Toxteth, Liverpool, has spent 20 years looking into his own family’s ancestral origins, discovering links to plantations in Demerara, in what was formerly known as British Guiana.

It was during this research he discovered Samuel Sandbach, a former deputy chairman of the Bank of Liverpool and mayor of the city, who he says became wealthy from the slave trade.

St Catharine’s College said: “St Catharine’s is absolutely committed to upholding freedom of speech and ensuring all of our students, including Malik Al Nasir, are able to freely pursue their scholarly interests by providing access to academic, pastoral and – where possible – financial support throughout their studies.”

The University of Cambridge said: “This is an ongoing legal matter and so we are unable to comment.”

Ms Sandbach has been approached for comment.