Police respond to criticism

Police forces across London have responded to Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott’s criticism of the Met’s new tactic of ramming fleeing scooters and motorcycles.

The Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington took to Twitter to say that officers are “not above the law” and that “knocking people off bikes is potentially very dangerous”. But Camden police officers hit back, saying that someone who is responsible for law-making should realise that using tactical contact to terminate dangerous pursuits was “entirely within our lawful power”.

Camden Police said: “Someone who’s responsible for law-making (or at least debating and ratifying new legislation) should probably realise that using tactical contact to terminate dangerous pursuits is entirely within our lawful power… And our responsibility.”

Officers from Waltham Forest also replied, saying: “To mitigate risk to the public and also offenders, we use a range of tactics including tactical contact. There has been a significant reduction in motorcycle and scooter crime with a decrease of 10,974 offences to date this year in comparison to 2017.”