Branch chair responds to Prime Minister's call for police to end 'mob rule'

11 March 2024

The chair of Nottinghamshire Police Federation says members are doing 'a brilliant job in increasingly difficult conditions' after the Prime Minister called on police chiefs to end ‘mob rule’.

Simon Riley called on the Prime Minister to properly fund policing so it could meet the increasing demands being placed on it.

He was responding to calls by Rishi Sunak for a more robust response to protests from police.

The Prime Minister suggested to police chiefs that ‘mob rule is replacing democratic rule’ - something that ‘all of us must change urgently’.

Simon said: “Our members are dedicated to serving the people of Nottinghamshire and do a brilliant job, often in the most difficult of circumstances.

“They’ve endured a torrid decade of cuts to their wages, cuts to officer numbers, cuts to resources, cuts to budgets, cuts to just about everything.

“They’re busier than ever and being asked to do more than ever, so for the Prime Minister to target them in this way is a massive kick in the teeth.

“I’m not saying there aren’t issues around restoring confidence in policing, but that won’t happen by the Government dragging us into their culture wars.

“Instead, the Prime Minister and the Government should be supporting our police service in words and deeds, with proper funding and better pay so that we can meet the demands being placed on us.”

Simon’s comments came after the Home Office announced a £31 million package aimed at protecting MPs, stating it was in response to the impact of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Police chiefs were summoned to Downing Street, where Mr Sunak urged them to ‘use existing powers to crack down on intimidation, disruption and subversion urgently’.

“We simply cannot allow this pattern of increasingly violent and intimidatory behaviour which is, as far as anyone can see, intended to shout down free debate and stop elected representatives from doing their job. That is simply undemocratic,” said the Prime Minister, who called for ‘more robust police responses to protect politicians and democratic processes’.

Police are being advised that the protests taking place outside MPs’ homes and offices should ‘trigger an immediate response’.

Simon said: “Our members are doing a brilliant job in increasingly difficult conditions and deserve more from the Prime Minister than to be used as a political football.”