Security vetting stepped up after MP is given bodyguard with far-right links
The security company that provides bodyguards for MPs has tightened its vetting processes after it sent a bodyguard with far-right links to protect a politician who was under threat from extremists.Mitie, which has a £31m contract for the work, is updating its CPO (Close Protection Operative) vetting processes to include regular social media checks.There will also be random checks on the social media activity of those already taken on.Concerns about the threat to MPs from extremists – including Islamists and the far right – have risen, with elected representatives facing a level of threat not seen since the campaign mounted by Irish republican terrorists in the 1980s and 70s.Mitie’s contract followed the assassination of the Conservative MP David Amess by an Islamist terrorist in 2021.
This came five years after the killing of the Labour MP Jo Cox by an extreme rightwing terrorist.Harassment and crimes against MPs have reached record levels, with cases doubling in two years to nearly 1,000 annually as of March, according to the latest figures.Cases include that of the Green MP Hannah Spencer, who needed a police escort when she was targeted by men who disrupted a protest against the far right.Contacted by the Guardian after MPs privately raised their concerns, a Mitie spokesperson, said: “Our priority is the safety of the people under our protection, and we hold our close protection officers to the highest standards.If those standards are not upheld, we take appropriate action as soon as practicable.
”All of the company’s close protection officers have Security Industry Authority licences, the mandatory legal requirement for individuals working as security guards, door supervisors and CCTV operators.Social media checks were part of the vetting process but Mitie is understood to have tightened up this kind of vetting earlier this month.Last month, a minister told parliament that threats against female MPs were having a “chilling effect” on women thinking of going into politics.This week, a 42-year-old man from Blackpool was handed a 12-month restraining order and fined £120 after disrupting a jobs fair organised by Chris Webb, the Blackpool South MP.Webb said afterward that the case was not an isolated incident and he had received “a barrage of constant threats, including death threats” from the far right since winning a byelection for Labour in 2024.
“This escalation is not simply about the safety of MPs – it represents a serious and growing threat to the health of our democracy,” he said, adding that colleagues had experienced a rise in threats.“Attempts to intimidate or silence those in public service are an attack on the rights and freedoms that underpin our political system.We must do more to ensure the safety and security of MPs and their families, or we risk further tragedies.”Webb and MPs from a range of parties shared their experiences and concerns for their safety and that of colleagues in a debate in parliament last month.They were updated on the work of the Defending Democracy taskforce, which works across government to protect democratic institutions.
Dan Jarvis, the security minister who chairs the taskforce, said: “The volume, breadth and tempo of threats against elected representatives is unprecedented.”Jarvis said he and MI5’s director general had discussed the issue with chief executives from political parties and referred to a “grim reality of “assaults, vandalism, stalking, blockading and a blizzard of online abuse” that has also affected families.He added: “Women and ethnic minority representatives report the highest volumes of abuse, including overtly sexualised and racially charged threats, which have a chilling effect on who feels able to stand for public office.”MPs raise concerns about their security with the office of the speaker, who liaises with the parliamentary security department set up in 2016 to provide personal advice to politicians and their staff.A review of security measures for MPs was commissioned after the murder of Amess in 2021 and additional measures were developed, including security for constituency surgeries and events and security training.
A spokesperson for the parliamentary authorities said: “The ability for members and their staff to perform their parliamentary duties safely, both on and off the estate, is fundamental to our democracy.Abuse and intimidation is completely unacceptable.”
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