Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle: I've received death threats

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has received two death threats since becoming House of Commons Speaker, he has told the BBC.

Sir Lindsay said he and other MPs had to be "careful", but politicians would not be deterred from doing their job.

Measures were in place to deal with terrorists, stalkers and "individuals with mental health issues that turn up" at Parliament, he added.

Sir Lindsay also dismissed reports that he had banned MPs from using Twitter in the Commons chamber as "ridiculous".

But he urged them, wherever possible, to wear masks while at Westminster to protect parliamentary staff from Covid infection.

Sir Lindsay became Speaker, whose job is to oversee debates, in November 2019, promising to change the Commons "for the better" following months of often bitter disputes over Brexit.

However, he told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour that, almost two years later, MPs still needed reminding to follow the rules and not accuse one another of lying in the chamber.

"That's not a good way of debate," he said. "That is not the art of debate - I think it's about proving who's right and who's wrong, not taking a simplistic view and saying, 'Well, that's very easy. You're lying.'"

Sir Lindsay, MP for Chorley in Lancashire, also said he faced an "ongoing slog" to stop ministers revealing the details of government policy in advance of it being announced in the chamber.

The recent increase in MPs applauding speeches had to end, he added, as it was "partisan" and would "end up taking more time and stopping other people speaking".

Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in Birstall, West Yorkshire, in 2016, and several other MPs have since revealed that they have received death threats.

Sir Lindsay said: "We've got a great security team in Parliament. We've a joined-up network right across the country now to make sure that support is there.

"It's not just about the terrorist threat. You have individuals with mental health issues that turn up, that need support and help and of course you do get stalkers."

He added: "Since I got this job I've had two death threats. Is it nice? My life continues, but it comes with the job doesn't it?

"What we've got to try and do is make sure it doesn't happen… It's about doing the right things. It's about being careful. It's about being cautious.

"But what it won't do is stop me being a Member of Parliament for Chorley."