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The BBC have reportedly been forced to hire bodyguards to protect Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg at Labour Party Conference over fears for her safety.

Kuenssberg, who has been the target of a sustained campaign of online abuse, will be followed by personal protection officers at the four-day conference in Brighton.

A spokesperson for the BBC refused to comment on security matters.

But an ‘insider’, quoted in the Sun on Sunday, said: “We take the safety of our staff extremely seriously. 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.”

(Image: Splash News)

Kuenssberg has been the target of a stream of abuse over claims she is biased against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn , and has been booed and hissed at by Corbyn supporters at events.

The 40-year-old political editor also had bodyguards during the general election campaign.

In May 2016, a petition calling for her to be sacked after she was critical of Corbyn was pulled after it became "a focal point for sexist and hateful abuse made towards Laura Kuenssberg on Twitter.”

Last week, BBC Chair Sir David Clementi said female journalists were suffering "increasingly explicit and aggressive" abuse on Twitter.

He added: "I have become increasingly aware of the abuse that some of them – particularly female journalists – are subject to, on an almost daily basis.

"It also occurs in plain sight, at press conferences and political gatherings on all sides.

“Politicians cannot stand by and watch – they must confront any abuse, and make it clear that it is intolerable."