£15,000 fund set up to help North Yorkshire councillors who face abuse

North Yorkshire County Council has set up a £15,000 fund to help councillors who have faced violent threats and abuse.

A meeting of the authority’s executive approved setting aside the money to which any of its 72 elected members will be able to apply, just weeks after Conservative MP Sir David Amess was killed at a constituency surgery in Essex.

The move also follows some North Yorkshire councillors reporting death threats, abusive letters and emails, being held hostage and having their property vandalised.

Under the initiative, councillors will be able to anonymously apply to the security fund, for which there would be no investigation as to whether there is any evidential support for the councillor’s concerns.

The council’s deputy leader, Cllr Gareth Dadd, whose partner is Darlington MP Peter Gibson, told the meeting no elected representative at whatever level should feel threatened or barred from seeking public office.

He said: 

“I also believe it’s the duty of any democratic organisation to protect and to promote democracy, and to that end I welcome a fund. And that fund will apply to all members of all parties or none. Party politics is not an issue whatsoever.”

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Cllr Dadd said the fund would mean elected members who felt frightened walking down the street could be provided with low-cost measures such as panic alarms, adding: 

“More serious threats could be and have been made, so it might be home security.”

He said while the amount of funding given to councillors needed to be proportional and pragmatic, the authority should not set an upper limit on the amount of money that could be spent protecting elected members.

Cllr Dadd said: 

“Money should not be an obstacle to achieving the outcome we are seeking. 

“We have pencilled in £15,000, but I very much hope the new unitary authority will not set a limit on this because there can be no financial limit on the defence of democracy.”

Home visit concerns

Councillors also agreed to enable elected members with concerns to contact designated officers to provide information about potentially violent persons before undertaking a home visit.

However, concerns were raised over how that would work as councillors were often unaware of concerns about individuals before they arrived at a property.

Whitby cum Mulgrave division councillor and executive member David Chance said: 

“I had a situation that revolved around my support for the refugee programme and I had a number of emails and telephone calls and I simply asked that my details be removed from the council website at that time. 

“But I can see  if there are contentious issues some members may feel threatened.”

Cllr Andrew Lee’s call for the council to take a pro-active approach and offer members who may feel their concerns are too trivial a range of low-cost security measures was also approved.

The safety initiative will also promote the reporting of incidents of abuse so the council can better understand the scale of the issue and what further actions can be taken to reduce risks for councillors.

Police urge Harrogate district MPs to report personal security concerns

North Yorkshire Police has said it has contacted Harrogate district MPs Andrew Jones and Julian Smith about their personal security following the killing of Southend West MP Sir David Amess.

MPs held a minute’s silence this afternoon for Sir David, who died after being stabbed meeting constituents in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. A 25-year-old man has been held on suspicion of murder and the incident has been declared as terrorism.

North Yorkshire Police issued a statement today saying:

“Members of Parliament from North Yorkshire and the City of York have been contacted as part of Operation Bridger, which provides tactical options for protective physical security in their constituencies.

“This is managed by the parliamentary liaison and investigation team that was formed in 2016 following the murder of Jo Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen.

“In order to help protect themselves, their family and staff members, and their constituents while attending surgeries, we are advising our MPs to report any security concerns without delay.

“North Yorkshire Police will continue to review the security advice on a regular basis, based on an assessment of changing threats and risk.”

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The two Harrogate district MPs whose constituencies fall in North Yorkshire are Andrew Jones, who represents Harrogate and Knaresborough, and Julian Smith, who represents Skipton and Ripon.

Mr Smith has tweeted personal recollections of fellow Conservative Sir David.

As a youngster I remember @amessd_southend for his oratory, looks & dynamic hair. When I became Chief Whip I saw his humanity- the deep level of commitment he had to his Colleagues when they were ill or in distress was formidable. For him to be killed in this way is devastating.

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) October 15, 2021