THE common practice of having a councillor’s home address publicly available could soon be a thing of the past following the tragic murder of Sir David Amess.

The death of the Southend West MP earlier this month inside the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh, has prompted serious security concerns for MPs and councillors.

The Echo previously revealed Southend councillors have been told to have “escape routes” from the surgeries they hold.

Now Southend Council has “reminded” councillors they can remove home addresses from their profile pages on the council website in the wake of the attack.

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Dan Nelson, Tory councillor of the Southchurch ward, said: “I removed mine and had CCTV at my flat more than a year ago.

“I feared for my family’s safety, it’s not just me at home.

“I have nowhere to go, this is my home.

“I don’t think taking addresses off as a blanket approach will help now, but in the long term it definitely will.

“We need councillors to be able to feel safe while working.”

Jack Warren, Tory councillor of the Belfairs ward, added: “I chose to opt out of publishing my address when I became a councillor in May.

“It’s a personal choice.”

A number of councillors do not publish their home addresses. However this was done before Sir David was killed.

Carole Mulroney, councillor in charge of the environment, culture, tourism and planning, said she doesn’t think there’s really a need for addresses anymore.

She said: “I’ve only had two letters in the past five years, and nobody comes to my house.

“The only people who do are planned visits from people I know really well.

“Most people just email now.

“If councillors wanted a blanket approach to remove addresses for their own security, I would support them.

“I have kept my address on there because I don’t visit the Civic Centre very often, and I don’t want to miss anything that might be put in the pigeon hole.

“Luckily I haven’t had any hate mail in the post or on email.”

One politician in Southend, who didn’t want to be named, told the Echo last week how their children have told them they fear they could now be attacked for being in the spotlight.

Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, has urged the Prime Minister to introduce “David’s law”, a tougher version of the Online Harms Bill, in a nod to his close friend and colleague who was murdered.

Mr Francois said Sir David had become “increasingly concerned” about the “toxic environment” that MPs were having to operate in and suggested a ban on social media anonymity.