Paul Bristow
Main Page: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)Department Debates - View all Paul Bristow's debates with the Home Office
(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Priti Patel
The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that it is a small minority who cause the most harm, while the law-abiding play by the rules, live by the rules and conduct themselves in the right way. It is important to say that in beautiful parts of the country—of which there are many, including the hon. Gentleman’s constituency —much more work can be done, not only by the police but by local authorities and local agencies, to ensure that there are awareness campaigns. The police have been doing that and the Home Office has been supporting and working with them to communicate those messages, but we need many of those other agencies in the hon. Gentleman’s community and throughout the country to reinforce those messages.
Paul Bristow (Peterborough) (Con)
I share the alarm at the actions of the far right this weekend and commend police officers for their bravery and courage. In the preceding days and weeks, senior police officers made tactical decisions not to uphold the law; does my right hon. Friend agree that tactics of that kind, while well-intentioned, signalled weakness and should not reoccur?
Priti Patel
It is important to say that all policing decisions are based on operational independence and recognising the situation around every single event. We must all recognise that it is not for us to judge that, particularly in Parliament. I speak to policing leaders every day, as Members know, and I have seen and heard of all sorts of scenarios that have confronted the police over the past two weeks. It is the right thing and the right approach to back our police, but obviously when there are challenges in policing—when there are tactical issues or issues with operational command—it is right that we raise that directly with the police, and it is right that we also do that with police and crime commissioners, who obviously have responsibility for the way in which their forces operate and much of the policing that takes place in their force areas.