“We put our lives on the line,” said Harvey. Security staff check all people, vehicles and items entering the estate, and patrol areas to ensure MPs, peers, staff and other visitors are kept safe. “We just want to be appreciated for it.”
Harvey raised the case of the late police officer Keith Palmer, who was fatally wounded by a terrorist outside the Palace of Westminster in 2017: “He got up, kissed his wife goodbye [and] never made it home.”
Barriers to entry
When strikes take place, reinforcements are called in from the Met Police to ensure the parliamentary grounds are protected.
But the temporary departure of hundreds of staff undoubtedly has an impact. During the budget day strikes, the entry of guests was severely restricted as school visits, tours and various commercial events were canceled.
A former senior parliamentary official, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said “the usual conundrum is at play” between balancing the security of parliament and its staff while also ensuring the public can access their legislature. Both, they said, are an “absolute imperative.”
They add: “You want to give openness and access and, on the other hand, you want to have an absolutely watertight security system.”