LuCy Powell, your reaction to events in the United States overnight?

Well, this is an appalling, horrific attack on Donald Trump, which we fully and completely condemn. There is no place for political violence. There is no place for attacks like this in our democracy. And the prime minister has already sent his thoughts to Donald Trump and his, and his family and all those involved. This is absolutely appalling.

To what extent do you think our politicians, you are vulnerable in this way?

Well, clearly, we've seen a rise in intimidation and attacks on serving politicians or people who want to be politicians in this country, too. I mean, we have seen some of the great things about our democracy in recent weeks, too. People at the ballot box have been able to deliver change that they want and get the change in the country that they want to see. But we have to remember that underneath that, there has been this growing sense of insecurity and hate and attacks, especially at certain individuals, not to everybody, but certain individuals. And it's something that we need to take action on.

What did your colleagues, I mean, some of your colleagues, I think, have had specific examples of what's happened to them during the campaign and the way they've had to change their behavior. Can you give us a sense of what your colleagues have told you?

Well, some colleagues have had real difficulties. They've seen intimidation in the streets when campaigning. They've seen some intimidatory activity around and nearby polling stations. We've seen some deep fakes being shared online about individuals that have turned out to be completely wrong. We've seen misinformation shared that fuels kind of hatred and a dehumanizing effect on individuals. Some colleagues have not had that experience at all. You know, this is a small number of cases, but where it is, it is very worrying indeed. And that's why I, the speaker, the home secretary myself and others, we've taken the security of MP's and candidates incredibly seriously over the last few weeks and months. And thankfully, we haven't seen any serious incidents in that time.

What actually the speaker has this weekend spoken about this, but what can you actually do? I mean, there's always going to be a problem because you, the politician, wants to meet and see the public face to face, but then there is the risk. And you've written about Joe Cox and also David Amos. We all know about what couldn't you actually do?

Well, look, I think fundamentally, we have to be able to go about our democracy and our democratic processes free from fear and intimidation. And part of our democracy in this country as constituency MP's is to be out and about in our constituencies, is to hold surgeries, is to go to hustings, is to knock on doors, is to meet our individual constituents, and we've got to be able to maintain that insofar as possible. So, yes, there are security measures that have been put in place for individuals or for us collectively. We've got to educate people, I think, as well, so that they understand the difference between this and misinformation and reality, too. I think we need to take action on some of that being shared more quickly than we are able to do. And part of the theme of the new government under the prime minister's leadership, we want to try and restore trust in politics through the ballot box, through people taking action politically and through democracy, we can deliver change for people. We've got this big mandate for change after an election, which was most remarkable election in many ways, really restoring faith in the ballot box.

But we now have a huge responsibility to deliver on that change. And that's what we've been doing over the last week or so. That's what we're going to be continuing to do every day, every week that passes the big legislative agenda we've got coming up this week in the king's speech. We'll build on that, too.

I want to come back to that, but one of my colleagues has shown me something that you wrote after the death of Jo Cox, which I think is very appetite, if I read it. You said, the way we are all dehumanized, meaning politicians, means that the journey from vile abuse online to real physical attacks is sadly getting shorter. But we must learn lessons. But the essence of our democracy should not be compromised. Does that mean that politicians are essentially doomed to just run this risk?

Well, I hope not. And we've got to all work together collectively as a society, not just as governments or as politicians ourselves, but as a society to really cling on to what is so great about our democracy that people do have the power, by voting, by engaging in democracy, to bring about the change that they want, but also being informed about that as well. So not believing some of the things that they might see shared on WhatsApp or social media about an individual, which is completely wrong often.

Is there something here to be said about politicians own behavior, about the tone of politics, the way that MP's and leading politicians speak to and about each other?

I think there probably is some truth in that, but I think that the tone the prime minister particularly has struck, and that is really flowing through the whole of this new government, is to be welcomed. His first message on the steps of Downing street. Governing for the whole country and the interests of the whole country, no matter who people voted for, to take on that responsibility of government and to recognize that what people want to see happen is for us to follow through on the commitments we made, follow through on the promises that we made, deliver that real change that people voted for and that people want, and to go about changing the way we act and behave to ensure that we are a government of service. We've got the very highest standards of expectations for MP's and. And we have seen, I'm afraid, an era of sleaze and scandal and cronyism. And we really want to turn the page on that. We are turning the page on that, and I think that's an important part of the debate.

Coming back to the attempt on Mister Trump's life, do you expect the prime minister to speak to Donald Trump at all?

Well, I know our ambassador in the US has already made contact with Trump's people. I'm sure those conversations will happen. And that the prime minister has expressed his solidarity with Donald Trump through social media and expressing that publicly, because we stand shoulder to shoulder. This is completely unacceptable, appalling attack, and is absolutely against everything that we stand for and believe in as free democracies.

What would you say now to a young person who might be interested in politics, who's watching this, has seen what's happened? What would you say to them about why would they put themselves at risk?

Well, what I would say is that these incidents are thankfully very rare on the whole, and that the job of a politician and being able to change people's lives and represent people and influence what happens is a huge honor. It really is. It's a huge responsibility. It's a huge honor and privilege. And there are a great deal of brilliant things about being an elected politician, whether that's a councilor or an MP or any other guys, that people might want to consider in public service. And I would encourage people to do that. We do have to take care. And obviously, we have seen a number of MP's or standing down, perhaps prematurely, and we've got to make sure that we uphold. As I said, I think in the aftermath of Joe's tragic death, we've got to uphold the essence of our democracy, which is talking to people and contact with the public.

Mrs. Powell, I'm sorry we haven't had the chance to talk policy, but obviously today, more profound issues at stake. Thank you very much for your time this morning.

Thank you.