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BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg will be protected by security guards at the Labour party conference after suffering a campaign of abuse, according to reports.

The Sun on Sunday reported that the BBC ordered Ms Kuenssberg to be shielded at the four-day conference in Brighton following 18 months of vile hate and allegations of bias.

A BBC spokesman said the broadcaster does "not comment on security issues", however an insider told the Sun on Sunday: "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."

It is not the first time Ms Kuenssberg has reportedly needed the protection of bodyguards, having been followed by a security detail during June's general election.

The abuse spiralled after fans of Mr Corbyn claimed the BBC star's coverage was biased against the Labour leader.

She drew fire from a vocal group of angry left-wingers for her coverage of his shadow cabinet reshuffle in 2016, as well as Labour's weak performance in subsequent local elections.

She was hissed at when she asked a question to the Labour leader shortly before the Brexit referendum.

The hateful comments have often included a misogynistic slant, according to observations by campaigners and MPs.

Campaign website 38 Degrees removed a petition that gathered more than 35,000 signatures of people calling on the BBC to sack Ms Kuenssberg.

It said: "There is no place in the 38 Degrees family for sexism or any form of discrimination or hate speech."

Labour's Yvette Cooper spoke out in July against attacks on the journalist over her impartiality.

Ms Cooper, who set up the Reclaim The Internet campaign to challenge online abuse, said she was "sick to death of the vitriol poured out from all sides towards Laura Kuenssberg".

Ms Cooper said: "It is her job to ask difficult questions. It is her job to be sceptical about everything we say. Nothing justifies the personal vitriol, or the misogyny."