We don’t need the help of the Army!’: Boris Johnson faces backlash from police after offering the help of soldiers in fight against coronavirus as they say ‘no military involvement is necessary’
- PM announced troops could be brought in to free up officers to enforce curfew
- Dominic Raab said military personnel could be drafted in to ‘relieve capacity’
- National Police Chiefs Council chair said ‘no military involvement is necessary’
Boris Johnson faced a backlash from police today over plans to use soldiers to help his latest coronavirus crackdown.
The Prime Minister announced that troops could be brought in to free up officers to help enforce measures like mask wearing and the new 10pm pub and restaurant curfew, which comes into effect tomorrow.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab defended the plan this morning, saying military personnel could be drafted in to ‘relieve capacity’ and allow officers to concentrate on enforcing rules.
But he dismissed claims that soldiers will be patrolling the streets as ‘scaremongering’. The last time soldiers were deployed on UK streets was in 2017 following a terror attack on an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena.
However, Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council, said: ‘Any military support must be assessed carefully.
‘At the moment, no military involvement is necessary, nor do we anticipate this will be needed.’
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab defended the plan this morning, saying military personnel could be drafted in to ‘relieve capacity’ and allow officers to concentrate on enforcing rules
The last time soldiers were deployed on UK streets was in 2017 following a terror attack on an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena
Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council, said: ‘At the moment, no military involvement is necessary, nor do we anticipate this will be needed’
Mr Raab today warned the UK ‘could end up in a national lockdown’ if Boris Johnson’s new coronavirus crackdown fails to get the disease under control.
The Foreign Secretary said a second shutdown ‘is what we want to avoid’ but the nuclear option remains in the Government’s ‘arsenal’ if all else fails.
Mr Raab said he hoped ‘if everyone plays by the rules’ then the nation will be able to go into the Christmas period without a national lockdown being imposed.
Discussing Mr Johnson’s plans for the Army, he said: ‘The reality is there will be stronger enforcement, more powers for the police, higher levels of fines, mainly for the small minority who haven’t complied always with the rules.
‘We don’t want them to blow it for the vast majority of people and end up in a second lockdown.
‘The issue with the army, as throughout this pandemic they have been used to backfill, to support, for example local authorities with testing, delivery of PPE and if they can relieve any capacity for the police to do the very difficult job that they have done incredibly well, they will be there to do that.’