Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch has disclosed that she has received multiple death threats, speaking out after the killing of former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe reignited concerns over MP security. In an interview with the Press Association on Thursday, Badenoch stressed that 'MPs are there to provide the country with security, not the other way around'.
Badenoch's Personal Experience with Threats
Badenoch revealed that police had made an arrest in connection with threats against her within the last few weeks. 'All politicians get targeted. I myself have received multiple death threats. In fact, police have arrested someone just in the last few weeks about this,' she said. She described the issue as 'at the forefront of my mind' but expressed concern that the conversation was focusing too much on MPs' security.
National Security Priority
'The country is not there to provide us with security. We are here to provide the country security: national security, energy security, economic security,' Badenoch added. She referenced past assassinations of Tory MPs, including Airey Neave and Ian Gow killed by the IRA, the 1984 Brighton bombing that targeted the party conference, and the death of Sir Anthony Berry. 'It is a fact of life that public life means that you are exposed to more threats. But I want people to know that Conservatives are more concerned about national security than anything else,' she said.
Widdecombe Murder and Political Reactions
The 78-year-old veteran politician Ann Widdecombe, a senior figure in Nigel Farage's Reform UK party at the time of her death, was allegedly murdered at her home in Dartmoor, Devon, last week. Counter-terrorism police arrested a 28-year-old white British man on suspicion of murder, later re-arresting him on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. The attack is being treated as a targeted incident.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said more must be done to 'defend our democracy', while his incoming successor Andy Burnham called for a 'serious review' of MPs' security. Reform UK has also demanded extra funding for MP protection in the wake of Widdecombe's death.
