Police picked up eco-protesters ...and the virus
‘The situation is ridiculous’
SEVERAL officers policing this week’s climate change protests have been pulled off duty due to a flare-up of coronavirus among their ranks.
More than 300 activists from Extinction Rebellion have been arrested in London since Tuesday for public order offences after protesters blocked roads and bridges, glued themselves to the ground outside the House of Lords and staged a sit-in around Parliament.
One officer who had been policing the demonstrations said they had been warned by team leaders after a number of colleagues who had attended the protests returned positive tests and their team mates began showing symptoms of the disease.
They told the Daily Mail: ‘We’ve had a massive outbreak at work, involving a lot of officers at Kensington and Wandsworth and Lambeth. The people affected have been dealing with Extinction Rebellion this week and were due to be next week too but now they are all self-isolating.’
Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation Ken Marsh said he was aware of a team of seven officers from north London who had been sent back from the demonstrations after some began showing symptoms.
The Police Federation had previously called for a ban on protests during the pandemic following ugly clashes between far-Right activists and Black Lives Matter demonstrators in June.
Mr Marsh said last night: ‘The situation is just ridiculous for police, I’ve said it time and time again.
‘We are in the middle of a pandemic and we have been put in this position where it is impossible for officers to protect themselves while doing their jobs effectively.’