and tragic as this happens, it focuses people s attention on matters of security, personal safety, but ijust wonder in the years that you have been in parliament, as it always something that has been on your mind or is it only in recent years you have called for this speaker s conference to be convened. just explain for our viewers what that means and what that could achieve potentially. a speaker s conference is a very rare process. it only has happened about once every ten years in the recent past. it is where parliament meets to discuss and decide on something and report on it on an issue which affects the whole of parliament. and it would be the speaker bringing together all parties, and actually having a deliberation which allows mps to discuss how we balance this democracy and then issue a report. after the killing ofjo cox, we have had more security in our homes and more security in the house of commons, but we did not fully address the issue of security in the constituency. i t
is a very rare process. it only has happened about once every ten years in the recent past. it is where parliament meets to discuss and decide on something and report on it on an issue which affects the whole of parliament. and it would be the speaker bringing together all parties, and the agencies like the police and security services, and social media, and actually having a deliberation which allows mps to discuss how we balance this issue in democracy and then issue a report. after the killing ofjo cox, we have had more security in our homes and more security in the house of commons, but we did not fully address the issue of security in the constituency. i think that is what we need to do now. i do not want to pre empt what other mps would say, but i think that there is a balance between saying we do not need to meet our constituents at all except on zoom
forces. they in turn would get into contact with all 100 and 650 mps up contact with all 100 and 650 mps up and down the country to talk about what kind of measures they can put in place. there is a police operation, operation bridger, put in place in the aftermath of the murder ofjo cox in 2016, to put in place things like shutters and alarms to better protect mps and their staff, but already some mps are saying, look, we need to carry on doing this, of course, but you might remember so much elwood in 2018 did cpr to a police officer who was attacked, fatally stabbed at the gates to the houses of parliament. he is saying that perhaps mps need to go back to what they were doing during a pandemic, not holding face to face meetings with their constituents but doing it online or over the phone. constituents but doing it online or over the phone. peter investments to, man over the phone. peter investments to. many thanks- over the phone. peter investments to, many thanks. over
secretary had to say? well, no doubt this death will be at the forefront of the home secretary s mind, at the forefront of all our elected politicians minds this morning, as we were hearing at leigh on sea and for the security services, the intelligence agencies, what was the motivation behind this attack? police believe the attacker was acting alone, but more widely, does it believe mps are still safe to go about their daily duties? a fundamental part of our democracy, to be able to come face to face with the people they represent. there would have been hundreds of constituency surgery is going on just yesterday. mps are being contacted by police forces up and down the country as part of what is known as operation bridger, which was set up in the wake of the murder ofjo cox in 2016, so they could put in shutters and alarms, but it is understood the home secretary believes it is too varied up and down the country and she wants it to
to happen more about it, more of this is going to happen it more about it, more of this is going to ha en. , , ., to happen. it is illustrated, nigel, b the to happen. it is illustrated, nigel, by the observer, to happen. it is illustrated, nigel, by the observer, we to happen. it is illustrated, nigel, by the observer, we must - to happen. it is illustrated, nigel, by the observer, we must end - to happen. it is illustrated, nigel, j by the observer, we must end the hatred aimed at our mps says the commons speaker, lindsay hoyle says the conversation has to be kind and based on respect. jo, we were here five years ago whenjo cox was killed. we tried and may be for a time we were being more humane, in terms of the political discourse, but it doesn t seem to have lasted. no, and i think that is the really sad thing. as you say, we have been here before with the terrible murder ofjo cox. going back years, when you and i were knocking around parliament, we know the huge pressure an