The
police will no longer be able to enforce lockdown because Dominic Cummings’ actions have completely undermined their authority with the public, it was claimed last night. Senior policing figures and frontline officers said they feared people would no longer be willing to adhere to the Government’s guidance, making their
Job virtually impossible. Many senior officers had already admitted they were struggling to explain the rules to an increasingly confused public. But after the Prime Minister’s most senior aide travelled 260 miles from
London to Durham to self-isolate at his parents’ home, one former Chief Constable said the Government’s guidelines were dead in the water. Mike Barton, the former Chief Constable of Durham Police, told the Telegraph: “How on earth are the police supposed to enforce the rules now? What has happened has completely holed the legislation that was introduced to keep people safe, below the waterline. It is dead in the water. “It was already difficult for the police to get right because there were these strident messages coming from the Government. In a few minor cases some forces made a few mistakes, but generally the public was very receptive to the message. That has now gone.” Brian Booth, West Yorkshire Police Federation Rep, also said enforcement would now become impossible. He said: “Throughout the lockdown the vast majority of the public have abided by the rules for the greater good. For many it has come at great personal sacrifice. “But when they see a senior government aide appearing to breach the lockdown what are they supposed to think? “It really does undermine what we are trying to achieve. We already have it hard with smart alecs who think they know the law better than us and this just plays into their hands. “It is not the Government who will be left picking up the pieces from this, but all the frontline officers who are trying to keep the public safe.”