Patel rebuke for police chief and warning that officers must not be ‘heavy-handed’
THE Home Secretary yesterday delivered a rebuke to the police after a chief constable suggested his force would start checking supermarket trolleys to enforce the coronavirus lockdown.
Priti Patel said the threat by Nick Adderley, the chief constable of Northamptonshire, was “not appropriate” as she maintained policing over Easter should not be “heavy-handed”.
She also rejected any further toughening of the lockdown conditions as allegedly mooted by some police chiefs, saying: “Absolutely not.”
Mr Adderley had also raised the prospect of his force mounting roadblocks to stop vehicles they believed were flouting the rules.
But Ms Patel said last night: “That’s not appropriate. Let me be clear about that. I work with the police and its leadership every single day of the week. That is not the guidance. That is not down to the measures we have been adopting thus far.
“What we should just say about this weekend is that the weather is going to be good – it is Easter. We really all do need to take responsibility.”
The Home Secretary’s comments come ahead of a critical weekend when police plan extra patrols, road checks to turn back visitors to holiday resorts and “closures” of rural and beach beauty spots.
The policing of the lockdown has been a contentious issue, with forces criticised for putting up drones to spot dog walkers, mounting road checks on motorists, taping off park benches and warning runners for sitting down.
Mr Adderley declared yesterday that the “three-week grace period” for the public was over.
He said he was targeting a “hard core” refusing to obey the rules. He added: “We will not, at this stage, be setting up roadblocks. We will not, at this stage, start to marshal supermarkets and check items in baskets and trolleys to see whether it’s a legitimate, necessary item. But … if people do not heed the warnings we will start to do that.”
Other forces including Devon and Cornwall and Cumbria are threatening to fine would-be Easter holidaymakers and turn them back, while police declared Dorset, North Wales and North Yorkshire’s coasts “closed” to visitors.
Greater Manchester Police revealed that last weekend it had broken up 494 house parties, 166 street parties, 122 gatherings for sporting
173 groups in parks.
Ms Patel urged second-home owners and tourists not to travel to beauty spots but suggested police taping off park benches might be a step too far.
“We want our public places to be respected and utilised in the right way,” she said. “We want people to make the most of getting out in the right kind of way, practicing social distancing.
“But this is not about heavy-handed law enforcement. I really must emphasise that. There’s a balance to this.”
Last night, Mr Adderley suggested there had been “confusion” over what he meant: “What I was trying to refer to was we may get to a stage where the purposes of somebody’s journey may be questioned by an officer, not searching trolleys and baskets.”
He said his officers would apply common sense and discretion but added: “If people continue to flout the law, they will be fined and if appropriate they will be arrested.”