00:00Thank you Mr Speaker. I'm horrified to report to you and to the House as a whole that last night in Swale Borough Council there were violent scenes as people wearing balaclavas in the public gallery itself violently intimidated councillors. They were threatening them, pelting them with eggs and missiles from the gallery.
00:22We say no! We say no! We say no! We say no! We say no! We say no! We say no! We say no! We say no! We say no!
00:34This is an attack on democracy itself. This is an attack on free speech. This is an attack on my constituents. The building was so badly vandalised afterwards with toilets flooded, lifts destroyed, it can't be used today and is not open.
00:48My constituents cannot access council services because of these actions. Our democracy is based on the ability to disagree with each other strongly but never violently.
01:04I have to ask my honourable friend, the Leader of the House, what can be done here from the House of Commons for councillors and MPs across the country who are facing growing levels of violent intimidation?
01:17Mr Speaker, my honourable friend speaks very powerfully of the appalling actions which have taken place and I join him in condemning the actions of those involved.
01:30I know, Mr Speaker, that you have done a great deal around the Speaker's conference on the security of MPs, candidates and elections.
01:38But this is also a priority for the Defending Democracy Task Force, where we are now focusing very much not just on where the police can be increasingly effective when such incidents occur and where democracy is deemed to be under threat,
01:58but also to make sure that it is not just a question. There are plenty of examples, too many of examples of where MPs are intimidated, but it is where other local representatives are intimidated too.
02:07And it is simply not acceptable. So let me be very clear, anyone involved in public life should not be subject to harassment or intimidation for doing their job and this House needs to stand united in sending out that message.
02:24Mr Speaker, can I just say, as you bring me into that conversation, absolutely following what the Leader says, Operation Forward is the contacts that need to be made within the Constabulary.
02:35I would expect them to take over and I would expect players who are embedded within Parliament who also connect to Operation Forward for local authorities, purely for councillors.
02:46The hotline is there to every police force in the country. So I hope that people respond accordingly to what I find an appalling situation. An attack on democracy is not acceptable.
02:56I now come to the chair of the Black Bench Committee, Bob Black.
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