Security training for MPs 'should be compulsory', says sister of Jo Cox

“Drop me an email and we’ll try to sort it out”, Kim Leadbeater says with an energetic grin as she moves on to another huddle of elderly locals braving the April drizzle.

The Labour MP for Batley and Spen, West Yorkshire, is handing out leaflets at a bowls club and conducting an ad-hoc constituency surgery as she goes.

Ms Leadbeater, 45, is irrepressibly jolly and warm despite the weather, but there are signs too of the precautions she takes to keep herself safe.

A panic alarm with the letters ‘SOS’ hangs on a cord around her neck. At a distance, a pair of police officers in yellow reflective jackets watch on.

Six years ago just a couple of miles from where we are now, Ms Leadbeater’s elder sister Jo Cox was murdered by a right-wing terrorist.

That tragedy, and Ms Leadbeater’s decision to stand for parliament, means she has become a prominent advocate for strengthening MPs’ security, as well as trying to change the tone and culture of political debate.

“Things are pretty bad,” she tells me back in her office, clasping a mug of Pepsi Max. “And what scares me and worries me is the fact that we’ve normalised that.

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“I work with some really strong women [in parliament], but even they have been talking about court cases, restraining orders as if it’s normal. As if that’s okay. As if we would put up with that in any other job. And we wouldn’t.”

Ms Leadbeater speaks out because so many colleagues from all parties are scared to, for fear of attracting more abuse.

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“I remember exactly where I was when David Amess was killed,” she says. “On a school visit not far from here for children with disabilities and special needs. We were having a wonderful visit and they were just about to give me afternoon tea, and then my team member who was with me got the call.”

How did that feel? “It’s a shock on two levels. I think: oh my gosh how has this happened again? And then there’s the shock of being taken back to 2016.

“And what really resonated with me in that regard was knowing what his family were going through, and the horrific journey that they would have just started on that day.”

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Although frustrated with the pace of change after her sister’s killing, Ms Leadbeater is now more confident that the parliamentary authorities and the UK’s police forces are finally improving how they protect politicians.

“This time, I really do see a lot going on behind the scenes which can’t be talked about publicly,” she says. “I think now we’re in a stronger position than we ever have been to see improvements.”

Training, however, is one bugbear: “I think safety and security training should be compulsory. All my team have had counterterrorism training and I will make sure that we keep up to date and keep up to speed on that.”

As we wrap up our conversation, I ask Ms Leadbeater if she feels safe. There is a pause: “I feel safe most of the time. But one of the reasons I feel safe is because I take everything that’s offered to me in terms of security and support. If I didn’t have that support, I would feel a lot less safe.

“I knew there were going to be risks associated with this job. More than anybody. But when a colleague is murdered, those risks become very, very clear.”

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