LONDON: Some British MPs may end the practice of meeting constituents in person following the murder of MP David Amess last year, House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle told BBC Radio 4.
Amess was stabbed to death in October by 26-year-old Londoner Ali Harbi Ali, who is said to have been inspired by Daesh.
Ali faces a life sentence on April 13 after his earlier conviction. After just 18 minutes in court, a jury found him guilty of murder and preparing acts of terrorism.
Hoyle said in the wake of the murder, some MPs may choose stricter security arrangements such as contacting constituents by phone or online.
He added that there are a range of measures to support MPs and that “terrorism is never going to win.”
Hoyle told the BBC: “'I’ve got to say to my colleagues, you must do what you feel safe with. That might be that you do it via Microsoft Teams, it might be that you do it via phones.
“Others, like myself, will carry on meeting constituents. But it’s doing it in a very safe environment. That’s the key to all this. We’re constituency-based MPs. Our constituents love to come with their problems and issues.
“That’s what we’re elected to do. But we must do it safely because we have a duty of care, not just to ourselves, but to the staff and the people who come to see us. We mustn’t put them at risk, so it must be done in a safe environment.” Hoyle stressed that the decision “must be the choice of the MP.”
Following the murder last October, which was the latest killing of an MP after that of Jo Cox in 2016, Hoyle demanded an “end to hatred against MPs and a kinder form of political discourse.”
He said: “It’s about the respect of politicians, it’s building trust with constituents, it’s getting them to believe in us and working with them.
“In the end, the attack took place because these people don’t believe in the values of our democracy.”
