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Louise Thomas
Editor
All new MPs have been given panic alarms as they face unprecedented levels of threats and abuse.
The 335 new members elected this month have been handed welcome packs containing pocket alarms with GPS trackers. When activated, they alert the police, who can quickly despatch officers.
They have been available for all MPs on request since the murder of Jo Cox in 2016, but have now been given out by default after the general election saw an increase in intimidation and abuse.
Yvette Cooper warned of an “alarming rise” in intimidation and abuse of candidates during the campaign and said there were “disgraceful scenes” in some areas.
The home secretary will chair a meeting of the government’s “defending democracy taskforce”.
“During this campaign, we also saw an alarming rise in intimidation, harassment and abuse towards candidates, campaigners and volunteers from all parties which simply cannot be tolerated,” Ms Cooper said.
The Home Office is carrying out a “rapid review” of the election to gauge the level of harassment faced by candidates with police forces across the country investigating “a number of” cases.
Meanwhile the government’s adviser on political violence John Woodcock, a former Labour MP who now sits in the House of Lords as Baron Walney, said he feared it was “only a matter of time” before there is another serious attack on a politician unless more is done to address the safety of MPs.
And the speaker of the House of Commons has warned that the safety of MPs keeps him “awake at night”.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle said threats and intimidation towards parliamentarians were currently at such a level that he had “never seen anything as bad”.
In his first interview after the general election, Sir Lindsay said: “I’ve got to be honest, the amount of intimidation and threats and the way it’s carried out, is much greater than anybody can imagine.
“We had MPs threatened, intimidated – I’ve never seen anything as bad.
“People must be allowed to vote without intimidation.
“Democracy matters to me. That is a constant worry. If there’s something that keeps me awake at night, it is the safety of MPs.”
Explaining the decision to give all new MPs a panic alarm, one source told the Mail on Sunday: “It’s a good idea to give them with the pack. Otherwise they say they don’t want them, then realise they do need them.”
And, writing for the paper, Tory MP Nusrat Ghani said: “I worry for women in particular, because female candidates, campaigners and activists are targeted more.
“There is no doubt that there are people who are misogynistic and aggressive, who simply do not want women in these spaces. That is their aim and they are willing to use threats of violence to achieve it. And we can’t let them win.”
