Danny Lawson Danny Lawson

UK PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson has been criticised by the chief constable of West Yorkshire Police in a speech that was not related to the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers.

Yesterday, Johnson gave a speech in front of a line of police officers in what amounted to a political speech about Brexit, a possible general election, and the resignation of his brother Jo Johnson as an MP and minister.

Chief Constable John Robins said “I repeat that I am pleased that we were chosen as the focal point of the national recruitment campaign launch, but the good news of extra officers was overshadowed by the media coverage of other events. 

Robins said that the understanding of the West Yorkshire Police was that the officers’ involvement would be “solely” about police officer recruitment.

He then said that “minutes before the speech” a briefing to the National Police Air Service and a media pool had been cancelled. 

I was therefore disappointed to see my police officers as a backdrop to the part of the speech that was not related to recruitment.

Johnson arrived an hour late to the speech in Yorkshire; towards the end of the speech an officer seemed to faint. 

The chief constable continued: “I am proud of the resilience and professionalism of every single one of our student officers yesterday.

With the recruitment of additional officers alongside them over the next few years, we will hopefully be in a better position to now deliver the service that the public deserve and expect.