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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Matthew Weaver

Police officers express ‘grave concerns’ at covering ambulance strikes

ambulances outside hospital
Tuesday’s statement stops just short of instructing officers to refuse to fill in for striking ambulance crews but it warned that if they do, law enforcement would suffer. Photograph: Tejas Sandhu/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock

Rank and file police officers have expressed “grave concern” at being asked to cover ambulance workers during strikes this month, at a time when they say law enforcement is already facing unprecedented pressure.

Steve Hartshorn, the chair of the Police Federation, has issued a strongly worded warning to the government that requiring police to drive ambulances would push over-burdened officers “closer towards a tipping point”.

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