MP Security

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In coverage on 12 October 2026, channels reported that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced an urgent review of security arrangements for high-profile public figures and, with immediate effect, expanded police support to political figures who are not currently MPs, including former MPs, peers and party spokespeople. The support includes access to a named police officer and help with wider security measures. The announcement followed the murder of former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe at her Devon home in July. According to the coverage, the man charged with her murder has also been charged with preparing acts of terrorism, including against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. BBC ONE West reported that the review would be led by Sir Stephen Lovegrove, a former UK national security adviser, and would report within six months. It also reported that Reform UK welcomed the review but was disappointed it took a murder, threats and months of campaigning for the government to act. BBC NEWS set out the existing system, saying armed close protection is provided through Ravec, with the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary receiving it by virtue of their positions and others receiving it after threat assessments. It said critics argue the system has not gone wide enough, and that Nigel Farage has said the state security he received did not go far enough, which is why he pays for his own security. GB News discussed what level of security MPs should receive, with speakers suggesting a case-by-case approach. The channel cited figures that Farage had received 1,700 threats since February this year, nearly 600 of them credible death threats, and said he had turned down a team of six because he considered it insufficient. GB News also raised the murders of Jo Cox and David Amess, and said threats come from the far left, the far right and Islamism, arguing more work had been done on the far right than on the far left.

Key Claims by Channel

Claim
Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels
The Home Secretary announced an urgent review of security arrangements for all high-profile public figures.			Not reported by GB News		Reported by Sky News
Reported by a few · 2–3 channels
Police protection is to be expanded immediately to political figures who are not currently MPs.			Not reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
A man charged with Ann Widdecombe's murder has also been charged with preparing acts of terrorism, including against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.			Not reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The announcement followed the murder of former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe at her Devon home in July.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The review will be led by Sir Stephen Lovegrove, a former UK national security adviser.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
The Prime Minister stated that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were almost certainly behind suspected terror plots at RAF Fairford.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by GB News		Not reported by Sky News
The UK announced sanctions on two individuals over espionage and attacks on behalf of the Iranian government in Europe and the US, after the Foreign Secretary summoned the Iranian ambassador.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by GB News		Not reported by Sky News
Armed security for public figures is currently handled by Ravec, a system critics say is too limited.		Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The review will report within six months.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Reform UK welcomed the review but said it was disappointed it took a murder, threats and months of campaigning for the government to act.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Nigel Farage said the state security provided to him did not go far enough, which is why he pays for his own security.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Nigel Farage has received 1,700 threats since February, including nearly 600 credible death threats.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Nigel Farage turned down a team of six people because he said it was not enough.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
MPs including Jo Cox and David Amess have been murdered, and any MP can be a victim even if low profile.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Threats come from the far left, the far right and Islamism, and more work has been done on the far right than on the far left.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Security should be considered on a case-by-case basis, with low-profile MPs not needing 24-hour protection while figures such as Farage would require more.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by GB News	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.