Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Home Office unveils £31m security package to protect MPs from threats

Extra funding has been announced to increase security provision for MPs (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Extra funding has been announced to increase security provision for MPs (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Security measures for MPs will be bolstered with a £31 million package that will include providing elected politicians with a dedicated police contact to liaise with over safety issues.

Home Secretary James Cleverly, who made the funding announcement, will meet with police chiefs on Wednesday to discuss what more can be done to improve the safety of MPs.

He said no MP should have to accept that threats or harassment is “part of the job”.

The extra funding follows fears about MPs being targeted and intimidated by demonstrators in recent months, particularly by those demanding action to bring an end to the fighting in the Israel-Hamas war.

Conservative backbencher Tobias Ellwood’s home was targeted earlier this month by pro-Palestine protesters, with the police warning his family to “stay away” from the property as “arriving through that crowd would’ve antagonised the situation”.

The family homes of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer have also been set upon by environmental protesters in past months.

On Wednesday, policing minister Chris Philp said four people had been arrested after a political party fundraising event in Stoke was disrupted by protesters last week, forcing it to be closed down.

He said: “We can’t cede an inch of territory to people who seek to intimidate our elected representatives.”

The Home Office said the latest funding package will provide increased security provisions for MPs.

The investment will be used to enhance police capabilities, increase private sector security provisions for those facing a higher risk and to expand cyber security advice to locally elected representatives.

It will also ensure all elected representatives and candidates have a dedicated named police contact to liaise with on security matters, officials said.

Mr Cleverly’s department said the measures would significantly expand the support provided under current policing arrangements for politicians.

James Cleverly
Home Secretary James Cleverly said MPs should not have to accept security threats as part of doing their job (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The Home Secretary will hold a roundtable with the National Police Chiefs’ Council on Wednesday to discuss efforts to “protect democratic processes from intimidation, disruption or subversion”, his aides said.

Announcing the new funding, Mr Cleverly said: “The Government will take every possible step to safeguard the people, processes and institutions upon which our democracy relies.

“I take the safety and security of all members of the House with the utmost seriousness.

“None of us should have to accept that enduring hate crimes, harassment, or threats is part of the job.

“I will continue to work closely with my police counterparts to provide elected representatives with the support they need.”

Rishi Sunak home
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s constituency home was targeted by environmental protesters last year (Danny Lawson/PA)

Security minister Tom Tugendhat said: “Over the past few weeks we’ve seen disgraceful attempts to intimidate MPs and undermine our democratic processes.

“That behaviour is a threat to our democracy, and toxic for our society.

“We will do whatever is necessary to protect those who’ve been elected to represent their local communities, and to defend our democratic freedoms.”

The announcement includes the establishment of a communities fund to support the deployment of additional police patrols each week in England and Wales to help deal with “increased community tensions”, the Home Office said.

It is designed to increase support available to vulnerable communities, increase police visibility and boost public confidence, the department added.

Two serving MPs — Labour’s Jo Cox and Conservative Sir David Amess — have been murdered in the past eight years, with reforms to the security of parliamentarians having been introduced as a result of those killings.

Israel-Hamas conflict
The Israel-Hamas conflict has sparked months of protests across the UK, including outside Parliament (Lucy North/PA)

Changes have included improvements to existing security measures at MPs’ homes and offices, and the bringing in additional private sector-delivered protective security where necessary.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle welcomed the new funding, saying it was “a significant step forward” that provided “much-needed reassurance for everyone involved in the democratic process”.

He said: “It will enable us to build on the improvements we have made over the past two years, working with the police and Home Office to enhance security at MPs’ homes and offices, and crucially when they are out and about meeting their constituents.”

On Tuesday, Mr Sunak rejected a suggestion that MPs should be able to speak and vote from their constituencies because of concerns about security at Westminster.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister believed it was “really important that we maintain Parliament as a place for free debate and expression of views”.

Veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman had suggested a return to Covid-era remote working could be needed to ensure the protection of politicians in the face of threats and intimidation.

The comments by the Mother of the House, the longest-serving female MP, came after the chaotic scenes in Westminster last week over the vote on a ceasefire in Gaza.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle broke with precedent over the selection of a Labour amendment to an SNP motion because he had concerns about the intimidation suffered by some parliamentarians but the backlash to his actions has left his own position in jeopardy.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle broke with parliamentary precedent over concerns he had about intimidation suffered by some MPs (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA)

Ms Harman suggested a return to a “hybrid” model of working could be examined by a Speaker’s Conference to help maintain MPs’ safety.

But a No 10 spokeswoman said the Prime Minister would resist any change that could “stifle” the role of Parliament.

The spokeswoman said Mr Sunak acknowledged the threats faced by MPs.

“Some of the behaviour and the intimidation has been completely unacceptable,” she told reporters.

“I don’t think anyone listening to MPs talking about their experiences in the house could fail to be moved by that.

“He’s incredibly aware of that.”