‘We condemn the violence directed at officers’

8 June 2020

The national chair of the Police Federation has ‘utterly condemned’ the violence directed at police officers during the Black Lives Matter protests at the weekend.

A policewoman was hospitalised after an incident in London on Saturday in which she fell from her horse and a number of other officers were also injured.

“This weekend we have seen large numbers of people take to the streets of our major cities to exercise their right to protest,” said John Apter, national chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

“Police officers will respect and facilitate that right, as we have always done. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the country is still in the grip of a deadly pandemic. The gathering of thousands of people, however worthy the cause, is a danger to public health and that of police officers who are working hard to keep these events peaceful and lawful.

“We utterly condemn the violence that has been directed at our officers - those brave men and women who are protecting the public and at a risk to their own safety  - by a thoughtless few who act with no consideration that police officers are doing their jobs and also have families to go home to at night. It is the actions of these few that people will remember most about these protests, a message distorted from its original intentions.”

He added: “The situation is certainly not helped by ill-informed and reprehensible comments by public figures, like Diane Abbott, seeking to draw unhelpful single-issue comparisons between policing in the UK and the United States. These are not comparable. In the UK we police with consent of the public and this ethos is at the heart of how we engage and protect, coupled with the highest levels of scrutiny and accountability in the performance of these duties, compared with anywhere else in the world.

“Our message to anyone thinking of participating in protests is, before you do so please think about the risks you are placing on everyone else, including your family.”