Hoyle: Assassination attempt on Donald Trump a warning for us all to protect MPs

An assassination attempt on Donald Trump is a “warning for us all” to ensure everything is in place to protect MPs, according to Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

The Commons Speaker said it is “hard to believe” such an attack still happens in modern America, adding it was a “stark reminder” to those who put themselves forward in the democratic process.

Sir Lindsay added he is also exploring the possibility of establishing a Speaker’s conference to assess security matters for politicians and put forward recommendations.

Such conferences are rarely used and are viewed as a way to find cross-party agreement on a subject.

Sir Lindsay said now is the time to “reflect” and gather information about what happened at the General Election, adding he spoke with the Electoral Commission on Monday to understand more about the issues.

Former US president Mr Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, just days before he is expected to be officially confirmed as the Republican presidential candidate.

Mr Trump, writing on his Truth Social media platform, said a bullet had “pierced” his ear before he was dragged to the ground by Secret Service agents.

It was the most serious attempt to assassinate a US president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.

Sir Lindsay told the PA news agency: “This is a stark reminder of the dangers of putting yourself forward in the democratic process.”

He stressed the need to guarantee the “security and safety of candidates”, adding: “You looked at that and you think how could that happen? America has had a history which is frightening, the fact that this is still happening in a modern America is hard to believe.

“But of course the Americans and guns, it’s much easier to get a weapon in America than what it is in this country, but it is a warning, it’s a warning for us all to make sure that we put everything in place for security measures of MPs, their families, their staff and the House of Commons village.

“That’s my priority. I always say this, if there’s one thing that’s going to keep me awake at night it is security and the people that I am responsible for.

“And it’s tough. Have we done enough? Can we do more? What should we be doing now? We will be going to the G7 Speaker’s Conference, I’ll be sharing knowledge with other speakers, this is the best practice, this is what we do, are you doing the same?”

Sir Lindsay highlighted the murders of two serving MPs – Labour’s Jo Cox and Conservative Sir David Amess – in recent years, adding they were both serving their constituents when it happened.

He said: “It unites the House – the one thing that binds us all together, we believe in democracy, we believe in the ballot box.”

Sir Lindsay said of the attackers: “These people do not share our values, they do not believe in what we stand for but we must never ever give into them.

“No matter what the price is, no matter what the cost is, we cannot give into them.”

In May, Labour MP Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) told of how a man approached her in the street and called her a “child killer” over her abortion views.

She suggested an “urgent” Speaker’s conference is needed to “get the balance right in how we can all protect our families”.

Sir Lindsay said: “The election has happened and now is the time to reflect on what happened in that election. That includes candidates, Members of Parliament who were elected here, it’s about gathering all that information, it’s about working with the task force group as well – that the Home Office will be collecting.

“I believe now is the perfect time in which we can not only lead on this but also I have been speaking today to the Electoral Commission to find out where the issues are and where the problems are to democracy – was there intimidation at polling stations?”

Sir Lindsay said he also wanted to understand the level of response to concerns raised during the election, adding: “I’m going to take all that evidence as well down to, as I say, was there intimidation outside polling stations? Did the police turn up? Were they active? Were they going round the polling stations? Were they at every count in the country? What was that response by each force?

“So it is about protecting that, it’s about looking back, but of course what I would say there are parts of that that we don’t want to do in the public session, but I do believe there’s others that need to come out.

“And by launching this Speaker’s conference, we know that the Speaker’s conference will deliver ways forward and recommendations and then we’ll see what others do with it.”

Asked to confirm there will be a Speaker’s conference to look at the issues, Sir Lindsay replied: “I’m looking to establish one.”