Cooler Heads As Summer Hots Up

Police union chief’s call for support from leaders

- Brendan Hughes

Leaders must act now to stop violence escalating into a “catastrophic situation” over the summer, the chair of the Police Federation has warned.

Mark Lindsay said officers having to enforce coronavirus regulations has been an “absolute nightmare” which has “decimated” trust in policing.

He accused the Executive of not giving the PSNI enough support over the challenge of having to police confusing and ever-changing restrictions.

In an interview with the Mirror, he also called for increased recruitment and better funding for the PSNI to match the political “soundbites” of support for policing.

Dozens of officers have been injured during a week of rioting in mainly loyalist areas and at a number Belfast interfaces.

Mr Lindsay, who represents rank-and-file officers, said: “I think that’s all very disappointing and very very sad that we’ve reverted back to that whenever there was so much hope for how we move forward in the future.”

Mr Lindsay said the injuries sustained by officers include lower limb and concussion-type injuries as well as minor burns as a result of petrol bombs.