Hardline policing may provoke civil unrest, government warned

Real sense of calamity on the way, says police commissioner, as lockdown eases and tensions rise

Political leaders taking a draconian line on how police should respond to unrest risk fanning the flames of disorder as the coronavirus lockdown lifts, the government was warned on Friday.

After days of tension between police officers and the public culminated in 22 officers being injured in a confrontation with residents attending an outdoor party in Brixton on Wednesday, the home secretary met with Met chief Cressida Dick to demand a “full explanation” of the circumstances of the incident.

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