Burnham calls for MPs' security review after Widdecombe killing

Andy Burnham called for a "serious review" of MPs' security after the death of Ann Widdecombe, saying politics had "darkened" during the decade he was away from Westminster. He said protections may need to be "increased further" as police now treat the 78-year-old former minister's death as a targeted attack.

Counter-terrorism police took over the investigation after "new information and evidence" came to light, and Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said, "It is clear that this was a targeted attack." Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Haytor, Devon, on Thursday, July 9, and a 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and rearrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. The suspect was not known to Prevent, Britain’s anti-radicalisation programme.

The killing has revived memories of the murders of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016 and Conservative MP Sir David Amess in 2021, two attacks that prompted tighter security and an enduring debate over how far Parliament can harden protections without further separating MPs from the public they serve. Burnham said he had seen how much security was now in place at Westminster, and still argued that more may be needed.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government would work with Parliament on how to protect lawmakers and others in public life. She recognised "the particular concern" felt by Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage, after Widdecombe, who stood down from Parliament in 2010, became one of the party’s most prominent figures.

Burnham also linked the atmosphere around politics to online abuse and wider toxicity, saying it was "easy to blame social media" but that it appeared to be adding to the strain. Widdecombe spent 20 years in the Commons before leaving Parliament.