Police say crimes at Sheffield MP's office rose in last year - despite previously confirming only 3 incidents
Police have said that crimes targeting an MP’s office have ‘increased in frequency in the last 12 months’ - only a week after claiming there were only three incidents related to the address since September.
On March 30, Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh announced that she would be leaving her Chesterfield Road office after more than 10 years over safety concerns due to ‘multiple incidents of criminality’.
The incidents are all said to have been targeted and not general neighbourhood issues.
Ms Haigh stresses that the Meersbrook area is a safe place to live.
A day later, South Yorkshire Police confirmed to The Star that since September they had attended three incidents at the address - two related to criminal damage and one report of malicious communications connected to threats made over a phone call.
At the time, Chief Inspector John Mallows said that police offer security advice to local MPs, adding: “Chesterfield Road remains a safe place for people to live, work and visit, and our neighbourhood officers continue to work hard to serve all those within the community.”
However, the force has now stated that this ‘does not represent the full extent’ of the situation, as they reaffirm their commitment to protecting political representatives.
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A Sheffield South West NPT (neighbourhood policing team) spokesperson said: “We recognise the very real safety concerns faced by some Members of Parliament and we take these matters extremely seriously.
“The statement we provided last week in relation to Louise Haigh MP included the number of reports made to us in a short timeframe but we recognise this does not represent the full extent of the concerns faced.
“There have been numerous reports regarding targeted incidents at the premises and we recognise these have increased in frequency in the last 12 months. We will continue to do all we reasonably can to ensure she, and all of our MPs and their teams, feel safe and supported in fulfilling their duties on behalf of the public.”
Last month, another Labour MP, Sarah Owen, announced she was suspending face-to-face meetings with constituents following three security incidents over a three week period.
All MPs usually hold weekly constituency ‘surgeries’ in their local office, where anyone can come and meet them to raise an issue, usually by appointment.
Yet in recent years the safety of MPs has become a high profile issue due to the murders of MPs Jo Cox and David Amess.
Ms Haigh has said that her decision to move office will not affect her work in the community, and she continues to offer meetings with constituents digitally and face-to-face by appointment.
Announcing her decision on Facebook, she wrote: “After more than 10 years of being based on Chesterfield Road, it’s with sadness that I have made the very difficult decision to move out of my office.
“Over the years we have experienced multiple incidents of criminality and unfortunately it has recently tipped over the edge to the point where my staff and I no longer feel safe.
“I will of course continue to be accessible to constituents by appointment, via email and social media and I am out in the community engaging and knocking on doors constantly.
“The office move will in no way hamper our ability to deliver for our community but it is incredibly sad that we are no longer able to occupy a high street location.”