HOME Secretary Jack Straw has been urged to order an immediate review of security in Britain's courts.

MP Phil Willis, who represents Harrogate and Knaresborough, in North Yorkshire, said judges and magistrates were given no protection from possible attacks.

Mr Willis is writing to the Home Secretary in a week in which serious incidents have occurred in courts at Harrogate and London.

A senior woman judge needed hospital treatment after she was assaulted by a man accused of murder at the Old Bailey on Monday.

An 18-year-old man was wrestled to the ground by police and security staff at Harrogate Magistrates' Court after producing a replica handgun on Tuesday.

Mr Willis said: "Those involved in the administration of justice have a right to expect that their safety is guaranteed.

"The main issue highlighted by both cases is that defendants - some with major psychiatric problems - are appearing in front of judges and lay magistrates, who are afforded absolutely no protection at all.

"When people are known to have records of violent or disorderly conduct, the very least our judges, magistrates and other people attending court should be entitled to expect is that this type of defendant should undergo a thorough search before being allowed in the building."