Charlotte Cadden: It’s part of Conservative policing policy that you stay safe on the campaign trail 

Charlotte Cadden was the Conservative candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, and is a former police officer. She was lead officer for Operation Bridger. 

In February 2024, the then Home Secretary James Cleverley, published the Defending Democracy Policing Protocol, in response to the significant and alarming rise in the abuse and harassment of MPs, following the terrorist attack in Israel on 7th October 2023. 

The Home Secretary said at the time: “The government will take every possible step to safeguard the people, processes and institutions upon which our democracy relies. None of us should have to accept that enduring hate crimes, harassment, or threats is part of the job.  I will continue to work closely with my police counterparts to provide elected representatives with the support they need. 

And with that, the Defending democracy policing protocol – GOV.UK (DDPP) was published.  

As the national Operation Bridger lead at that time, I was tasked with turning the words of the Defending Democracy Policing Protocol, into deeds. 

Bridger is the Policing operation that supports the safety and security of MPs, when MPs are back in their constituencies. It was set up after the horrific murder of Jo Cox MP in 2016 and further enhanced after the murder of Sir David Amess MP in 2021. 

Developing how the Police could better support Police & Crime Commissioners, local Councillors, Elected Mayors and candidates for any election, was no mean feat. Consultation took place with Senior Officers across the UK, the Election Lead in the City of London Police, the Home Office, and the Local Government Association. A new method of gathering specific information about this much broader cohort of elected officials, was agreed and designed. 

Operation Ford, as it was named, is based on Operation Bridger. It relies on elected officials telling their local Police Force when something concerns them or may be criminal. The Police respond to the incident and code it on their system using Operation Ford. Using a code name, allows the Police to search and retrieve the data relating to this issue, to pick up any themes and to assess the associated threat, in much the same way that Police Forces do with the MPs that live in their area. 

The main difference between Bridger and Ford, is that MPs gain access to a suite of practical security measures, paid for by Parliament, when they take up office.  

Operation Ford was, however, a significant investment for the Government. One of the tasks I undertook was to design a job description for the new role of Force Elected Official Advisor – the FEOA. Each Force has at least one of these roles and the FEOAs are there to brief local elected members on personal security, among other operational improvements. 

So, this is a timely reminder to all Conservative candidates, members and supporters across the UK, who are on the campaign trail for by-elections or gearing up for the local elections on 7th May 2026. 

To explore Operation Ford in more detail, follow the below link to the LGA website. 

Must Know: Operation Ford and policing crime against elected members | Local Government Association 

All MPs should by now, know who their Operation Bridger lead is.

This information should be available on the internal Parliamentary website that all MPs have access to. The Bridger leads are senior officers who ensure that the Bridger guidance is applied by their officers locally. They build bridges with MPs but they do not take reports of any incidents. These should be reported to the Force as soon as practicable. 

In the case of an emergency when there is an immediate threat to life or property, elected officials or candidates should call 999.  

For incidents of concern that are not on-going, call 111 or use the online reporting tool Contact us | Police.uk 

If elected officials cannot remain accessible to the public, then democracy is adversely affected.

The Police are here to support us all.