MPs' bodyguards sent to work 'without stab vests'

MPs’ bodyguards were sent to work without stab vests and, in some cases, without having completed security clearance, the Unite union has alleged in a formal grievance against contractor Mitie.

Security staff employed under a new outsourced contract to protect at-risk MPs were refused the protective equipment despite the fatal attacks that killed MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess and PC Keith Palmer, the union has claimed.

The role was previously carried out by Metropolitan Police officers, who Unite argues were routinely issued with stab vests as standard.

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Unite lodged the grievance over what it describes as Mitie’s treatment and management of the workers, and says the refusal to provide the equipment put both guards and the politicians they protect in danger.

“It is totally unacceptable to be penny pinching when it comes to the safety of workers,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham. “Mitie’s refusal to issue stab vests is putting our members and the MPs they are guarding at risk.”

Mitie has met with colleagues in a bid to resolve some of these issues and it has been agreed that stab vests will be introduced, The i Paper understands.

The union has also raised concerns about vetting, claiming that many staff had not passed security clearance protocols when they began working for Mitie during the 2024 general election period. Unite says it believes this remains an ongoing problem.

Those vetting concerns were raised in a leaked letter, seen by The Telegraph earlier this month, which was written to Gary Culloden, Mitie’s managing director for security, and submitted as a formal grievance by union members. It alleges that close protection officers have been deployed “without appropriate security clearances or passes” on “multiple occasions”, and stresses that the problems are “not isolated incidents” but “repeated and consistent issues” experienced across multiple teams and deployments over a prolonged period.

The clearance allegations have raised fears that Britain’s national security has been put at risk, since individuals with privileged access to ministers and MPs are often targets for hostile states.

Beyond the questions over equipment and clearance, the union also alleges a series of what it calls systemic failings in how the workforce is managed. Members have reported unrecorded working hours, automated systems that log staff off after 12 hours, a lack of rest breaks, and severe fatigue caused by long-distance travel. Unite says Mitie has so far failed to resolve these issues.

Keith Henderson, a Unite regional officer, said the nature of the work made the alleged shortcomings especially serious. “This is dangerous work. Our members’ lives and those of the MPs they are employed to protect should not be put at risk for the sake of profit,” he said.

The contract sits with Mitie Protective Services, a division formed in November 2024 after the company initially fulfilled a short-term contract covering the 2024 general election. The work is outsourced by the Home Office, and the unit provides close protection and security for MPs judged to face specific risks – including high-profile backbenchers and the leaders of major opposition parties.

The safety and security of MPs has rocketed up the political agenda since Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was murdered in her constituency in 2016. Sir David Amess, the Conservative MP for Southend West, was also stabbed to death while holding a constituency surgery in 2021. Meanwhile, PC Keith Palmer was killed defending the parliamentary estate during the 2017 Westminster attack.

Unite’s grievance frames the dispute as one of cost-cutting taking precedence over safety, arguing that responsibilities once held by trained and equipped police officers have been transferred to a private contractor without comparable safeguards. The union has signalled that industrial action remains a possibility if its concerns go unanswered.

“Unless the situation rapidly improves, our members will take action to ensure their safety,” Henderson said.