BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg will be protected by bodyguards as the Labour party conference begins today.
Ms Kuenssberg has been subjected to a tirade of abuse from left-wing supporters in the past 18 months for her alleged bias against Jeremy Corbyn, and now the BBC have decided to take precautionary safety measures by having bodyguards follow her both inside and outside the Brighton conference.
Her employers have insisted that she must be followed throughout the duration of the four day event in Brighton, according to the Sun on Sunday.
While the BBC refused to comment on the matter, an insider told the Sun: ‘We take the safety of our staff extremely seriously and will not leave anything to chance.
‘Laura is a well-known public figure. 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.’
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg will be protected by bodyguards during the four day Labour party conference in Brighton
It is at least the second time in the space of a year Ms Kuenssberg has had extra security measures placed upon her, as she was reportedly given more bodyguards during this years general election.
She has received a barrage of abuse for her coverage of Mr Corbyn, dating back to his dismal cabinet reshuffle at the start of 2016, which was later criticised for her coverage of Labour’s performance shocking performance at the local elections later that year.
And in the lead-up to the EU referendum last year, Labour supporters hissed at the BBC political editor when she asked Corbyn a question about the workers rights.
Deputy leader Tom Watson, who hard-left supporters have reportedly targetted for his alleged disloyalty to the party leader, said he was ’embarrassed’ by the hissing.
In a tweet last year, Mr Watson wrote: ‘I feel embarrassed that @bbclaurak was hissed in the course of doing her job today. It was rude and inappropriate.’
Corbyn himself has previously claimed the BBC were ‘obsessed with trying to discredit him’ during a Vice News documentary.
He said: ‘There is not one story on any election anywhere in the UK that the BBC will not spin into a problem for me. It is obsessive beyond belief. They are obsessed with trying to damage the leadership of the Labour party.’
More than 35,000 people signed a petition calling for Ms Kuenssberg to be sacked by the BBC before it was taken down by campaign group 38 Degrees.
The group said: ‘That is totally unacceptable and, with the agreement of the petition starter, we’ve taken the petition down to prevent it being used in this way.
‘There is no place in the 38 Degrees family for sexism or any form of discrimination or hate speech.’
Ms Kuenssberg was hissed by Labour supporters when she asked the Mr Corbyn a question during the EU referendum campaign