Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on Update on tackling intimidation in public life of 18 March 2024, HCWS348, what further steps her Department is taking to help tackle intimidation in (a) elections and (b) public life; and which policies from that Written Ministerial Statement she (i) plans and (ii) does not plan to implement.

In light of increasing levels of harassment and intimidation ahead of the General Election, the previous Government invested £31m into additional protective security measures such as expanding the police led operation BRIDGER, and the introduction of a Home Office run private security capability.

However, our approach needs to evolve with the threat and go further. Under the Defending Democracy Taskforce, the Government is actively reviewing its levers for preventing harassment and intimidation, identifying gaps and vulnerabilities, and developing recommendations to strengthen our response.