Safety of all MPs comes first after Sir David Amess killed – The Yorkshire Post says
THE horrific death of Tory grandee Sir David Amess is even more senseless because it has taken a violent act of terror like this for a great many people to appreciate the work undertaken by MPs on behalf of the constituents – and the inherent risks that a great many routinely face.
Similar sentiments were also expressed when Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox was murdered in June 2016 as she arrived at a surgery meeting in Birstall and the regret is that it has taken the death, five years later, of another Parliamentarian to recognise the courage and resilience of elected representatives.
On Monday, Parliament will fall silent to remember Sir David. It will be an incredibly sombre of occasion as MPs of all parties unite in their collective grief and try to make sense about what his loss means for democracy.
Yet, contrary to perception, MPs spend much of their time in their communities, away from the heavily-guarded Houses of Parliament, being accessible to all. It is here where the physical risks to them and their staff are omnipresent in an era when politicians and public figures frequently receive daily death threats online.
And here a careful balance needs to be struck so this visible presence – a hallmark of Britain’s democracy – can be maintained, enabling the most vulnerable to seek help from their local MP, without the safety of these public servants being compromised.
The response to Sir David’s killing has seen a wide variety of views emerge from MPs sitting behind secure screens to surgeries taking place in public places like supermarkets where security is close at hand. But what should never be forgotten is that the vast majority of those seeking an appointment to so because they have nowhere else to turn – and that every MP is motivated by a desire to serve personified by Jo Cox, Sir David Amess and all of their colleagues.