Police officers could become Covid-19 superspreaders if they are not vaccinated against the virus, a federation leader has warned.
Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation Ken Marsh told BBC News it was “breathtaking” that no plans were in place to give frontline officers the jab.
He said: “We have the ability as police officers to become superspreaders because we’re not just in the boroughs of London, 32 of them, we go out of the boroughs as well.
“I find it breathtaking that the Government aren’t for one minute thinking ‘we need to vaccinate our frontline officers so they protect themselves and protect the public’.”
Mr Marsh also said there is “no way” officers will be knocking on the doors of normal households in London, which is in Tier 4.
“We won’t be knocking on people’s doors at all, unless there is a large group and noise, ie a party or something like that,” he told the broadcaster.
“But normal day-to-day households, there’s no way that my colleagues will be dealing with that.”
He said that if people refuse to open the door to police, officers have no power to force entry to the property, calling coronavirus laws a “toothless tiger”.
“If you go to a household and they don’t open their door, there is absolutely nothing we can do,” Mr Marsh said. “There are no powers in place to enter or to gain entry.
“When you’re given a toothless tiger in terms of the capacity of law, then you have to work within that credence.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock had appeared to suggest that police might stop the public leaving Tier 4 areas, after crowds flocked to railway stations in London on Saturday ahead of new travel restrictions being imposed.
But chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Martin Hewitt denied this.
He said: “We will step up visibility to encourage the public to follow the rules.
“There is no intention to establish road blocks or routinely stop vehicles.”
