Laura Kuenssberg given bodyguards at Labour conference after abuse

BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg has been assigned security at the Labour Party conference after receiving abuse from Jeremy Corbyn's supporters, according to reports
BBC political editor Laura Kuennssberg. Picture: BBCBBC political editor Laura Kuennssberg. Picture: BBC
BBC political editor Laura Kuennssberg. Picture: BBC

Kuenssberg, who was raised in Glasgow, has in the past been subject to claims of bias from the Labour leader’s backers.

The Sun on Sunday reported that the BBC had insisted she was protected at the four day conference in Brighton.

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A BBC spokesman said the broadcaster does “not comment on security issues.”

The newspaper quoted an insider as saying: “We take the safety of our staff extremely seriously. Laura is a well-known public figure.

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“She and her team will be covering events with big crowds where there can be hostility, so we want to ensure adequate precautions are taken.”

Ms Kuenssberg, 40, angered fringe elements of Mr Corbyn’s support base for her coverage of his shadow cabinet reshuffle in 2016, as well as Labour’s poor performance in subsequent local elections.

In the past, calls for the Scot to be sacked from the BBC have gained significant traction online.

Campaign website 38 Degrees removed a petition that gathered over 35,000 signatures of people calling for her to be axed.

It said: “There is no place in the 38 Degrees family for sexism or any form of discrimination or hate speech.”

Labour’s Yvette Cooper spoke out in July against attacks on the journalist over her impartiality.

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Ms Cooper, who set up the Reclaim The Internet campaign to challenge online abuse, said she was “sick to death of the vitriol poured out from all sides towards Laura Kuenssberg”.

Ms Cooper said: “It is her job to ask difficult questions. It is her job to be sceptical about everything we say. Nothing justifies the personal vitriol, or the misogyny.”