The brutal murder of an MP sparks fears for the safety of British politicians

They have decided to protect all Reform MPs and also former politicians, regardless of the budget involved, after the new premier Andy Burnham takes office on Monday.

The police counter-terrorism unit has taken over the investigation into the murder of Ann Widdecombe in a remote Devon village. There is one detainee and although the motivations are unknown, the police believe that he may have “a left-wing instigation.” She was a shadow immigration minister, with radical ideas about homosexuality. But the detained suspect is a white Englishman, 28 years old, whose mother lives near the murdered former minister.

Widdecombe, a former Conservative minister and later Reform spokesperson, was found dead on Thursday at her home in Haytor, on Dartmoor, in Devon, after suffering serious injuries.

Counterterrorism police confirmed Tuesday that she died in a “targeted attack”. He added that one of the “lines of inquiry” will be whether the suspect was targeting Reform UK figures. The Reform UK party has since announced that will provide 24-hour security to all its deputies out of concern for his physical integrity.

Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, who is expected to take over as first minister next Monday, claimed politics had “gotten darker” during the decade he was away from Westminster.

He commented that he had been “shocked to see the number of security measures that are now necessary.” But he added that “they may need to be strengthened further.”

The Widdecombe murder has rekindled the debate about the security of politicians.

A 28-year-old white British man from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of murder and subsequently arrested again on Monday on suspicion of having committed, prepared or instigated terrorist acts.

Asked why she thought frontline politics had become so dangerous, Burnham said: “It’s easy to blame social media. But it seems like it plays a role in creating the toxicity that surrounds political debate. “What happened to Ann is clearly appalling.”

“I knew Ann for many years in the House; we got on well, as did everyone, but it feels like something has changed,” clarified the future Labor premier.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Reform party’s Robert Jenrick accused the government of “dereliction of duty” in relation to Nigel Farage’s taxpayer-funded security, claiming such protection had previously been “reduced”. Mr Jenrick claimed his party leader had not been offered the necessary security, after it emerged that Reform had rejected a government-funded offer of security last year.

The Home Office called Jenrick’s comments “categorically false”. A spokesman added that ministers were not involved in the decision on MPs’ safety.

Before entering Parliament after the 2024 general election, any state-funded security measures for Farage would have been carried out by the Executive Committee for the Protection of the Royal Family and Personalities (Ravec), a team of officials from various areas of the government, which assesses the risk they run. Once he took up his seat as an MP, responsibility passed to the Department of Parliamentary Security.

Reform sources indicate that, in July 2024, Parliamentary authorities offered Farage a reinforced security packageconsisting of two rotating teams of eight security agents.

They indicate that, in September 2025, parliamentary authorities reviewed the threat level for the Reform leader. They offered a reduced security package that included a vehicle, a driver and a close protection officer.

Reform rejected this offer of state-funded support and opted to privately fund Farage’s security. Today all Reform deputies and former legislators have private security 24 hours a day. Parliament’s second offer to Farage was still much broader than the support offered to most MPs.

House of Commons authorities neither confirmed nor denied whether Farage’s security had been reduced. But they stated that security is “fundamental to our democracy” and that “all deputies are offered appropriate measures.”

A spokesperson added: “Any assessment of security measures or recommendations for an individual MP is subject to a rigorous risk analysis, carried out by security professionals and with input from the police and various professional bodies.”

“Naturally, these measures are reviewed on an ongoing basis,” he noted. Farage does not currently hold a seat in Parliament after resigning and triggering a by-election earlier this month. This means that any state-funded security measures would be borne by Ravec, and not Parliament.

The security of politicians has been a prominent issue in recent years, following the murders of Conservative MP Sir David Amess in 2021 and Labor MP Jo Cox in 2016.

In May 2024, the Conservative government announced a £31 million package to bolster security for MPs.

A review in 2022, following the assassination of Conservative Sir David, also led to MPs being offered tailored security advice based on their individual circumstances, rather than applying a standardized set of measures.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has insisted that all MPs who raise security concerns are treated equally, stressing that “there are no differences between members”.

He stated that whenever concerns are brought to his attention, MPs can be assured that they are “passed on to security personnel to deal with.”

His comments come after criticism from the Reform UK party, whose Home Affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, alleged that MPs from his party were not receiving protection.

On Sunday, Yusuf wrote on social media that “neither the government, nor the Speaker of the House, nor the police care at all about the safety of Reform MPs.” He assured that several of them had requested help without receiving a response.

Hoyle appeared to reject this claim on Monday when addressing MPs: “For me, all members of Parliament are equal in terms of security. There are no differences between them, I want to assure you of this.”

The security of politicians has once again taken center stage after Widdecombe’s murder.

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer said that no politician should be targeted or abused, regardless of their opinions, and that public representatives must be able to carry out their essential work safely and without intimidation.

The murders of two MPs in their respective constituencies – Labor’s Jo Cox in 2016 and Conservative David Amess in 2021 – have led to a significant expansion of security measures for MPs. Both Jo Cox and David Amess were murdered while serving as MPs.

June marked ten years since the murder of Labor MP Jo Cox. Her sister, fellow MP Kim Leadbeater, urged politicians to “reject the divisive rhetoric and dangerous language” that has proliferated since her sister’s death.

In recent years, numerous people have been prosecuted and even imprisoned for threatening MPs across the political spectrum, according to data from the Institute for Government (IfG).

These threats include death warnings and rape threats sent through social media and email. Plans to commit murders have even been detected.

A 2025 Speaker’s Conference report on candidate, MP and election security found that 96% of the 224 MPs surveyed had suffered some form of abuse since their election, with insults and offensive language being the most common forms.

Likewise, the study indicated that 27% of deputies had received death threats and 37% had suffered threats of physical harm.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, veteran MP Diane Abbott said that at one point she received “as many threats, abuse and warnings of violence as all other MPs combined”. Drawing on her experience of almost 40 years as an MP – and as the first black woman elected to the House of Commons – Abbott said the problem has gotten “very much worse” and suggested it was linked to the rise in online abuse.

Data collected by the Speaker’s Conference revealed that minority MPs are more likely to be targeted.

Among black, Asian and minority ethnic MPs, 56% reported feeling unsafe during the 2024 election period. This is higher than the overall proportion seen among new MPs and those renewing their seats, of whom only 25% and 42%, respectively, felt unsafe.

On the other hand, 26% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment, and 14% experienced threats of sexual violence.