Arrest of care home ‘rescuer’ was distressing, admits No 10

DOWNING Street has admitted scenes of a retired nurse being arrested for taking her mother out of a care home were “distressing”, as charities said new lockdown rules would leave relatives “literally out in the cold”.

Video footage of Ylenia Angeli, 73, handcuffed in the back of a police car in Market Weighton in East Yorkshire moments after wheeling her 97-yearold mother out of a care facility provoked widespread outrage yesterday.

The family had not been able to see Tina Thornborough, a retired seamstress who has dementia, for nine months and decided to act ahead of the second lockdown.

Ms Angeli was taken to Hull police station before being “de-arrested” and released without charge.

At a briefing, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the Government understood “how difficult the current situation is for families” but refused to say police officers had been heavy-handed.

“They clearly are distressing scenes,” the spokesman said.

Ms Angeli said yesterday her actions showed her “desperation” after trying for months to bring her mother home.

“I just wanted to hold her, I just wanted to tell her I loved her,” she said.

Under new guidance, visits are allowed but care homes should use “floor to ceiling screens”, “visiting pods”, and “window visits”. Vic Rayner, the National Care Forum’s executive director, said the arrangements, “without urgent support, will leave many, literally, out in the cold”.

Helen Whately, the social care minister, said she knew the restrictions on visiting had been “incredibly painful” and she had been “in tears” with some of the stories she had heard.