Security arrangements for members of Parliament in the United Kingdom are described as “disjointed” and inconsistent, according to Robert Buckland KC, who is leading an independent review into the murder of Sir David Amess. The review was commissioned by the government and its terms of reference were outlined by Buckland in a letter to the Home Office on Monday, which was also shared with Amess’s family.

Sir David Amess, the Conservative MP for Southend West for 38 years, was fatally stabbed in October 2021 during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. The attacker, Ali Harbi Ali, was convicted in 2022 and handed a whole-life sentence. Ali was identified as an Islamic State extremist and had been referred to the government’s Prevent counter-terrorism program seven years before the murder, but the case was subsequently closed.

The Amess family has welcomed Buckland’s leadership of the review, highlighting his attentiveness to their concerns about what went wrong. Katie Amess, the MP’s daughter, described the family’s experience in the years following the murder as “a long and exhausting struggle,” with difficulties obtaining information they consider basic and essential. She added that unanswered questions continue to weigh heavily on the family.

Buckland’s review will focus on aspects of the case that the family feels remain unresolved. It will also assess the security measures provided to MPs when working within their constituencies, aiming to balance open access to elected representatives with optimal protection for the MPs, their families, and staff. The recent death of Ann Widdecombe, who was a close friend of Sir David Amess, has intensified the urgency of the review. Neil Hudgell, the solicitor representing the Amess family, noted the added pressure following Widdecombe’s death, which has “focused minds” on the issue of MPs’ security.

Additionally, the investigation will scrutinize Ali’s life leading up to the murder to determine whether there were missed opportunities for intervention. Buckland expressed concern over what he described as “very patchy” security arrangements, citing a fragmented system involving Parliament, the Home Office, and the Royalty and Specialist Protection branch. He characterized the current structure as an “alphabet soup” that may not adequately address the real threats faced by many elected officials.

While Buckland dismissed the idea of creating unnecessary bureaucratic bodies, he emphasized that the existing fragmented approach appears insufficient to meet ongoing security challenges. The review’s findings are expected to provide recommendations for improving the safety protocols for MPs across the UK.