Roundup: Expert says 80 pct of British MPs once faced harassment

As tributes continued to pour in Friday following the tragic murder of British politician Jo Cox, it emerged that a majority of British parliamentarians have suffered some form of attack or attempted attack during their time in Parliament.

Dr. David James, senior forensic psychiatrist at the Home Office-funded Fixated Threat Assessment Center, said in an interview that around 80 percent of members of Parliament (MPs) have been subjected to harassment by constituents.

The killing of the 41-year-old, mother of two Labour Party MP, who represented the northern England constituency of Batley and Spen, has provoked a debate about the safety of British politicians. Most MPs prefer close contact with the people they represent in Parliament.

Every week most have face-to-face consultations with their constituents at what are known as surgeries. Many people seek help from their MPs for a wide range of problems, and sometimes to discuss their views on political issues.

James has studied dozens of attacks on British and European politicians and dignitaries by people suffering pathological fixations. His studies have shown around half of fixated individuals are pursuing some kind of justice.

His center, established in 2006 to examine security risks to politicians and other public figures, was set up to enable MPs to refer any threats for assessment.

James said Friday the system relies on MPs raising the matter, adding that many politicians regard aggression as "just something that goes with the job."

He said most attackers are "mentally-ill loners" with a grievance, adding most would-be aggressors give some sort of warning such as "threatening letters or difficult visits to a constituency surgery."

"Many MPs feel that they are in some way 'shopping their constituents if they report them, but such people are often mentally ill and could be helped if reported," James said in an interview.

The center is staffed by expert police officers, forensic community mental health nurses and several forensic psychiatrists. When it was established it was hailed as the first joint mental health-police unit in Britain, with a remit to assist royalty and politicians.

MPs are not the only group to receive approaches from fixated people. It has been estimated that Britains Royal Family receives around 10,000 letters a year from mentally ill people.

Campaigning in the referendum remained suspended Friday, with a resumption expected at the weekend when both the Remain and Leave camps will fight their corners in the battle to decide how Britain should vote on June 23.

Cox, who won her seat in the House of Commons in the 2015 general election, was the first British MP to be murdered since 1990 when Conservative Ian Gow was killed outside his East Sussex home when the Irish Republican Army placed a bomb under his car.

Former government minister Stephen Timms suffered life-threatening injuries in 2010 when he was stabbed with a kitchen knife by an extremist, while in 2000 Liberal Democrat MP Nigel Jones was injured and his assistant Andy Pennington killed by an attacker armed with a sword. Both incidents took place at the MPs constituency surgeries. Endit