THE appalling killing of Sir David Amess, Tory MP for Southend West, generated shock right across the political spectrum of the UK. Instantly, one thought of the 2016 murder of the Labour MP Jo Cox who was killed on her way to a surgery and of the incident in 2000 where an attack on Nigel Jones MP resulted in the killing of his aide Andrew Pennington. In response to the murder of David Amess it seems likely that physical security around surgeries and elsewhere will be improved for both MPs and MSPs. But as well as improving the physical security of MPs, and other elected representatives such as MSPs and councillors, consideration should be given to changing the criminal law to protect them.