Question

To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the level of online abuse of female hon. Members.

Members are encouraged to report all social media abuse and threats to the Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team (PLAIT), based in Westminster. This police unit provides support to individual Members about security concerns and co-ordinates the response with local forces.

The House has a policy of not commenting publicly on specific security matters. However, the Parliamentary Security Director is happy to meet the right hon. Member to discuss the level of online abuse of female hon. Members.

The Parliamentary Security Department, in conjunction with the police digital crime unit and social media companies, have run workshops for Members on this issue and provides general security advice on social media harassment.