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Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked all police forces to immediately review security arrangements for MPs following the death of Sir David Amess.

Following the killing of Sir David at his constituency surgery in Essex on Friday afternoon, Ms Patel chaired a meeting of police, security and intelligence agencies and also spoke to House of Commons’ Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

“The home secretary has asked all police forces to review security arrangements for MPs with immediate effect and will provide updates in due course,” a spokesman for Ms Patel said.

Live updates: Man arrested on suspicion of murder after Conservative MP stabbed to death

Sir David died after being stabbed at a surgery – where MPs offer face-to-face meetings with constituents – in his Southend West constituency in Leigh-on-Sea.

Sir Lindsay also promised to “examine” safety measures for MPs following the killing of Sir David, but cautioned against a “kneejerk reaction”.

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He described himself as “shocked and deeply distressed” by Sir David’s death – the second killing of an MP in their own constituency in little more than five years.

Sir Lindsay told Sky News that he had gone ahead with his own constituency surgery on Friday following the news of Sir David’s death.

“Nothing will stop democracy, nothing will stop us carrying out our duties,” he said. “Those people who don’t value the job that we do, those people who don’t support us will not win – hence why I’ve had my surgery tonight.”

Sir Lindsay said he would continue to “look at” security measures, adding: “We won’t sit back on our laurels, of course we know the challenges.

“We’ve got to protect MPs and allow them to carry out their duties. The duties that the electorate put them there for – to speak, to meet and to make sure that their views are conveyed to parliament.”

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Sister of Jo Cox in shock over MP death

Labour MP Lucy Powell on Friday night revealed she had received “a number of reassuring calls from Greater Manchester Police” with “some extra measures and support being put in place”.

Sir David’s death follows the 2016 murder of Jo Cox, the Labour MP who was shot and stabbed in her Yorkshire constituency on the day when she had been due to hold a surgery.

But senior Tories have urged caution over new security measures that would move MPs away from meeting with members of the public.

Lord Pickles, a former Conservative Party chairman who was an MP for 25 years before joining the House of Lords, acknowledged that security risks were “part of the job” for parliamentarians.

“It’s something you sign up to,” he told Sky News.

“There are some places in the world… where they [politicians] operate in a bubble, where they are a political class.

“But you could see David on the train to Southend, you could see David in local restaurants, you could see David just about anywhere.

“David’s accessibility was one of the reasons why he was such an effective operator inside parliament, inside politics.”

Lord Pickles described Sir David’s death as “tragic”, “dreadful” and “not normal”, but added: “We live in an age where sometimes you have to take risks.

“No one expects you to die, of course you don’t, but you don’t expect it to be entirely risk free.

“A doctor doesn’t entirely expect themselves to be risk free, a nurse doesn’t entirely expect themselves to be risk free, in teaching you are taking some risks.

“When you’re dealing with people who are often emotional, who feel like the system has let them down, often they’ll look for someone to blame.

“But, you know, if we sort of close up shop and just disappear behind a security bubble, it is democracy itself that will be the lesser thing.”

Jo Cox's sister is vying to take her old job as Batley and Spen MP
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Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in June 2016

Lord Pickles’s fellow former Tory cabinet minister, ex-Brexit secretary David Davis, told Sky News that Sir David would “hate” the idea of MPs being distanced from their constituents.

“It’s an awful paradox, frankly, that it was in his constituency surgery that he was attacked and killed,” he said.

“I do hope – and I think he would hope – that one of the outcomes of this is not that we distance ourselves from constituents.

“He would hate that idea.”

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Eyewitness video at MP attack scene

Pauline Latham, Conservative MP for Mid Derbyshire, told Sky News there was a need to review MPs’ security.

“We can’t be totally protected,” she said. “There will always be nutcases who will try to stifle democracy, there will always be unpleasant people who will try to cause mayhem and we’re no different from any other member of the public.

“But we do put ourselves in a vulnerable position over surgeries.

“Maybe we need more security at places like that where the public know where we are – and so perhaps there should be a bigger police presence supporting MPs.”

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‘A stalwart of parliament, a great man’ – Hoyle

Kim Leadbeater, the sister of Jo Cox who is now a Labour MP herself, said that many MPs will be “scared” by the death of Sir David.

“It’s so hard because we’ve got a job to do,” she said. “I find myself now working as a politician and trying to help people and trying to do good things for people.

“It’s really important that we get good people in public life. But this is the risk that we’re all taking. So many MPs today will be scared by this.

“My partner came home and said ‘I don’t want you to do it anymore, because the next time that phone goes it could be a different conversation’.”

Ms Leadbeater said that safety was “always on my mind everywhere I go and everything I do” but added she was “really well looked after by the police”.

The amount of money spent protecting MPs rose substantially following the murder of Jo Cox in June 2016.

Accounts from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority showed MPs spent £2.5m on security in 2016/17 – up from £170,000 the previous year.

Labour MP Stephen Timms speaks to the media as he leaves the Royal London Hospital after recovering being stabbed twice in the stomach last week during a constituency surgery in east London.
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Stephen Timms was stabbed twice in the stomach at a constituency surgery in east London in 2010

The murder of Jo Cox came six years after Stephen Timms was stabbed twice in the stomach at a constituency surgery in east London.

Roshonara Choudhry, a 21-year-old student, was later found guilty of attempted murder and jailed for a minimum of 15 years.

During her trial, a court heard Choudhry had made a list of MPs who had voted for the Iraq war.

Mr Timms underwent emergency surgery but survived the attack and continues to serve as MP for East Ham.

In January 2000, Andrew Pennington died while saving the life of Cheltenham MP Nigel Jones when they were attacked with a Samurai sword.

The 39-year-old, who was acting as an assistant to Mr Jones, was posthumously awarded the George Medal for bravery.

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Spending Review 2025: Faster drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries to come from £86bn science and tech package

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Spending Review 2025: Faster drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries to come from £86bn science and tech package

Research into faster drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries will form part of the £86bn science and technology funding due to be unveiled in the government’s spending review next week.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will unveil how much taxpayer money each government department will get.

Each region in England will be handed up to £500m to spend on science and technology projects of their choice, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) says.

In Liverpool, the funding is being earmarked to speed up the development of new drug treatments, while in South Wales, it will fund longer-lasting microchips for smartphones and electric cars.

Overall by 2030, Ms Reeves’s spending package will be worth more than £22.5bn a year, the government says.

“Britain is the home of science and technology,” she said on Sunday. “Through the ‘plan for change’, we are investing in Britain’s renewal to create jobs, protect our security against foreign threats and make working families better off.”

Science and technology secretary Peter Kyle added: “Incredible and ambitious research goes on in every corner of our country, from Liverpool to Inverness, Swansea to Belfast, which is why empowering regions to harness local expertise and skills for all of our benefit is at the heart of this new funding – helping to deliver the economic growth at the centre of our plan for change.”

Read more
Spending review 2025: All you need to know
How much cash will each department get?

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Can AI predict spending review, asks Sky deputy political editor Sam Coates

Flat real-terms budget ‘won’t be enough’

Regional leaders such as North East Mayor Kim McGuiness and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker welcomed the funding promise.

But the announcement was met with caution by industry leaders.

John-Arne Rottingden, chief executive of Wellcome, the UK’s biggest non-governmental research funder, said: “While it’s positive under the financial circumstances, a flat real-terms science budget, along with continuing barriers such as high visa costs for talented scientists and the university funding crisis, won’t be enough for the UK to make the advances it needs to secure its reputation for science in an increasingly competitive world.”

He claimed the UK should be “aiming to lead the G7 in research intensity” to “bring about economic growth” and “advances in health, science, and technology that benefit us all”.

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Director of policy and public affairs at the Institute of Physics Tony McBride expressed similar concerns.

“To fully harness the transformational potential of research and innovation – wherever it takes place – we need a decade-long strategic plan for science,” he said.

Mr McBride said a “plan for a skilled workforce… starting with teachers and addressing every educational stage” is key – something he hopes will feature in Ms Reeve’s spending review.

Among the other announcements expected are a potential scrapping of the two-child benefit cap and a green light to a new nuclear power station in Suffolk – Sizewell C.

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Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf reverses decision to quit party

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Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf reverses decision to quit party

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has reversed his decision to quit the party, saying “the mission is too important” and that he “cannot let people down”.

Instead, he said he will return in a new role, heading up an Elon Musk-inspired “UK DOGE” team.

In a statement, he said: “Over the last 24 hours I have received a huge number of lovely and heartfelt messages from people who have expressed their dismay at my resignation, urging me to reconsider.”

He added: “I know the mission is too important and I cannot let people down.

“So, I will be continuing my work with Reform, my commitment redoubled.”

Mr Yusuf said he would be returning in a new role, seemingly focusing on cuts and efficiency within government.

He said he would “fight for taxpayers”.

Only two days prior, Mr Yusuf dramatically handed in his resignation.

He claimed he no longer thought getting a Reform government elected was a “good use of my time” – but has now seemingly changed his mind.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed the news of Mr Yusuf’s return.

He said: “I am delighted that Zia Yusuf will head up Reform UK’s DOGE department.”

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage and party chairman Zia Yusuf, during a Reform UK press conference.
Pic: PA
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Nigel Farage welcomed Zia Yusuf’s return. File pic: PA

Read more:
Why did Zia Yusuf resign as chairman of Reform UK?
Reform’s rise forces rethink for SNP
‘Farage could become PM’

Mr Yusuf’s initial decision to quit came after he publicly distanced himself from the party’s new MP, Sarah Pochin, when she asked Sir Keir Starmer about banning the burka at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Reform said a ban was not party policy – and the chairman called it a “dumb” thing to ask.

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What is DOGE?

DOGE is a meme-coin inspired creation of Musk’s, standing for the Department of Government Efficiency.

It is the latest right-wing US import into British politics.

Before his public fallout with Donald Trump, the tech billionaire said his focus was saving taxpayers’ money by locating wasteful spending within government and cutting it.

Read more: How Elon Musk’s mission to cut government spending fell flat

However, opposition politicians questioned the impact of his efforts and how much he actually saved.

Musk initially had ambitions to slash government spending by $2trn (£1.5trn) – but this was dramatically reduced to $1trn (£750bn) and then to just $150bn (£111bn).

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Singapore’s ousted crypto firms may not find shelter elsewhere

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Singapore’s ousted crypto firms may not find shelter elsewhere

Singapore’s ousted crypto firms may not find shelter elsewhere

Singapore’s ousting of unlicensed firms was not a sudden move and it’s among several regions tightening licensing duties.

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