WHILE MPs talk about stepping up security in the wake of the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, Clacton MP Douglas Carswell said other professions also take risks and MPs must remain accessible and accountable.

The UKIP member said he also did not want British MPs to be like MEPS in Brussels where they are driven by car, but should use the bus “as it’s the British way.”

“I have my surgeries in public libraries, public spaces. I have to be available. I walk around the centre of Clacton every week and I make a point of it,” he said.

“The police in Clacton face risks every day of the week and in A&E departments it can sometimes get a little hairy,” he said.

The MP said he takes ‘sensible steps’ but recalled he was attacked by a mob in London a year ago, but he still travels on a bus.

“I don’t want to live in a country where the politicians don’t travel by public transport. Most MPs should use a bus. That’s the British way,” he said.

This week, the Referendum campaign stepped back into top gear, after a suspension of campaigning following Thursday’s tragic killing of the Batley & Spen MP from 52-year-old Tommy Mair.

Campaign events in Clacton were cancelled on Thursday and Saturday, with Mr Carswell, who has played a national role in the Vote Leave campaign, also pulling out of a major speech with Boris Johnson at the weekend.

This week, the MP is managing Vote Leave’s ‘Get Out the Vote in Essex’, calling on the support of 1,200 people in Clacton alone who have said they will help. To date, they have received 18,000 pledges.

Mr Carswell said he has won backing from many Labour supporters in his bid.

“I am amazed at how people are putting party politics to one side. This is about the ability to elect a government. There are lots of decent, patriotic socialists in Essex who have been campaigning to leave. We have a lot of people in the public services, right across the board. There's young people and old people,” he said.

Though some political commentators and newspapers have sought to point fingers in what drove Tommy Mair to kill Jo Cox, Mr Carswell warns people must not jump to conclusions.

When Stephen Timms, the Labour MP, was stabbed by an Islamic extremist in 2010, some details leaked out and this too led to some people jumping to conclusions before the full story was heard.

“The lesson is not to jump to conclusions. A young mum who was highly respected was killed. One thing I do hope we do change is we change to the tone of the debate,” Mr Carswell added, noting debates and events locally have been good humoured with both sides accepting there are decent people on opposing sides.