UEFA Euro 2020 Final Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateLord Londesborough
Main Page: Lord Londesborough (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Lord Londesborough's debates with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
(2 years, 11 months ago)
Lords ChamberAs I said, the Government continue to engage closely with the English Football League and have urged pragmatism so that a resolution can be found and that they can continue to play against Millwall and other football clubs.
My Lords, we are seeing increasing pressure being put on match day stewards, who are paid as little as £9 per hour to control football crowds, while police presence in many grounds is decreasing. Is this the way to face off the increasing challenge of rising violence across all four divisions? Surely we need an increase in police presence. Does the Minister agree?
The noble Baroness’s review clearly stated that many stewards showed huge bravery and courage that day. The action taken by them and by the police in difficult and unprecedented circumstances may have saved lives, so we should be grateful to them all. An unprecedented number of police were deployed to the stadium, but the noble Baroness’s report makes some important recommendations for the police, for stewards, for the FA and for others, and we are making sure that they are all taken forward, as they should be.