MPs to receive ‘bespoke’ threat advice following security review

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered a review following the murder of Sir David Amess.

The Houses of Parliament (John Walton/PA) (PA Archive)

Individual MPs are to be given “bespoke” security advice on any threats they may face following a review carried out in the wake of the murder of Sir David Amess.

MPs have been informed of the changes which, it is understood, will see a move away from a standardised set of security measures to a more tailored approach.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered a review of existing measures after Sir David was stabbed to death while holding a surgery in his Southend constituency last October.

Earlier this month 26-year-old Ali Harbi Ali was given a whole-life prison sentence after being found guilty of murder and preparing terrorist acts.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle ordered a review of MPs’ security (Parliament TV/PA) (PA Media)

Sir David was the second MP to be murdered in less than six years following the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox by a far-right extremist in 2016.

The review was carried out by the Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) working alongside the police, the Home Office and other government security experts.

Details of its recommendations remain confidential for security reasons.

However it is understood that a new multi-agency team will look at the threat faced by individual MPs and recommend what measures they should take to protect themselves and their staff.

A parliamentary spokeswoman said: “The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and the Home Secretary Priti Patel, committed to reviewing security arrangements for MPs after the tragic murder of Sir David Amess.

“It is a fundamental principle of democracy that Members and their staff are able to perform their parliamentary duties safely – both on and off the estate.

“We do not routinely comment on security matters, however we can advise that we have updated MPs about changes we will bring in that will see us take a more flexible approach to keeping MPs safe, that build on the current robust security measures in place.

“As ever, we will keep these and any future measures under continuous review to prevent those who wish to do us harm from succeeding.”