Security review How could MPs be made safer?

The killing of David Amess has intensified concerns about MPs’ safety as they go about their work. These are some of the issues that will be considered as their security is reviewed:

What measures are already in place to protect MPs?

Security at Westminster is visibly tight, with armed police patrolling the parliamentary estate, and security passes required.

A knife-wielding attacker nevertheless managed to get into the grounds at Westminster in March 2017 and fatally stab PC Keith Palmer before being shot dead.

When MPs are back in their constituencies, security is – perhaps inevitably – more lax.

A plan called Operation Bridger, involving the police and parliamentary authorities, was put into place in December 2015 after the fraught parliamentary debate on bombing Syria was followed by an upsurge in concern about threats of violence.

It allows for what ministers at the time called “advice and guidance regarding members’ security and a process to access funding for standardised security measures”.

MPs have a single point of contact within their local police force to provide advice, and many have had measures implemented such as panic buttons, bombproof letterboxes and toughened glass – particularly in the wake of the murder of the MP Jo Cox in June 2016.

Why are MPs so exposed in their constituencies?

In part, it goes with the job: many MPs have said they relish the face-to-face meetings with voters, and consider it to be a crucial part of their role.

As the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, wrote in the Observer, “the very essence of being an MP is to help and be seen by our constituents ... surely making ourselves available to them is the cornerstone of our democracy?”

The home secretary, Priti Patel, suggested there were steps that MPs could take to make these events safer, such as booking appointments and endeavouring to check who they are meeting beforehand; checking the venue; and ensuring they are not alone.

However, the shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, pointed out that for MPs with large rural constituencies, it will be hard to confine their surgeries to premises where security measures can be put in place.

How might safety measures change in the wake of Amess’s death?

Patel and Hoyle have both said security for MPs will be examined following Friday’s events – and the home secretary has said the review will take place urgently.

Patel said the next stage of the review would look at the possibility of police protection at MPs’ surgeries, and airport-style scanners at the door. Some MPs have already been offered police support.

The Conservative backbencher Harriett Baldwin told the BBC that a patrol car had parked outside her constituency surgery on Friday, when it was unclear whether Amess’s killing was part of a wider attack.

Another backbench Conservative MP, Tobias Ellwood, suggested there should be a “pause” in face-to-face meetings while the security review is carried out.

Many MPs have panic buttons and bombproof letterboxes installed already