The Metropolitan Police Commissioner today said she is extremely disappointed that frontline officers have not been given priority for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Dame Cressida Dick said 147 of her colleagues have been coughed at and another 51 spat at by people claiming to have coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
She said around 10,000 fines have now been handed out in London for breaches of regulations since restrictions came into force in March, with the rate of tickets issued up during the latest wave.
Dame Cressida has now backed an open letter sent from the Police Federation of England and Wales to officials in Westminster and the Welsh Assembly, which said failing to vaccinate officers would be a deep betrayal .
Failure to prioritise the vaccination of frontline police officers against Covid-19 would be a deep betrayal and will not be forgiven or forgotten , federation leaders have warned.
An open letter has been sent from all 43 branches of the Police Federation of England and Wales to officials in Westminster and the Welsh Assembly.
The groups reacted angrily after Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that police officers would not be prioritised over the groups already identified for getting vaccines first.
The Police Federations of England and Wales have described the failure to prioritise frontline officers for vaccines as a deep betrayal. Pictured: Camden PC John Fabrizi (left) and colleague PC Michael Warren (right) from the territorial support group who both died last month
Coronavirus: five more Metropolitan Police officers and staff have died of the virus
Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said she was deeply saddened by the news
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Five more Metropolitan Police officers and staff have died of coronavirus.
Five serving members of the Met Police have died this month after contracting Covid-19. Image: Croydon MPS Five serving officers and staff members of London s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have died in January after contracting Covid-19, the force announced this evening (January 26). Commissioner Cressida Dick said she was deeply saddened by their deaths, which were added to the three Met Police members who died after testing positive for coronavirus last year. The news arrives after the Met confirmed that a custody sergeant from Met s Detention team had passed away from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. Five of our friends and colleagues have tragically lost their lives to #COVID19 in recent weeks.
By Press Association 2021
Metropolitan Police sign
A custody sergeant has become the fifth Metropolitan Police staff member to die from Covid-19 in recent weeks.
It comes after the deaths of three police constables and a traffic police community officer since January 11.
The custody sergeant from Met Detention, who has not been named, passed away in the last 24 hours.
Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said the force is “deeply saddened” by the news, saying it shows “policing is not immune”.
A Met statement said Camden Pc John Fabrizi died on Sunday, just under a week after the death of his colleague Pc Michael Warren from the territorial support group (TSG) on January 19.