Labour Warrington council calls police over ‘unofficial’ Remembrance Sunday event attended by Tory MP… and the Cheshire constabulary
- The Remembrance Sunday event was attended by politicians from both sides
- However, the Labour-run Warrington council later reported event to the police
- Hundreds of people thought to have attended ‘unofficial’ Remembrance event
Labour-run Warrington council has reported an ‘unofficial’ Remembrance Sunday event attended by a Tory MP to the police – despite officers and the council leader also being there.
The council said it had called police over a ‘large gathering’ at the town’s cenotaph on Sunday, which went ahead ‘despite’ restrictions being in place.
Hundreds of people are thought to have attended the event, including Conservative MP Andy Carter, senior Labour councillors and members of the Cheshire constabulary.
The council’s Labour leader Russ Bowden and deputy leader Cathy Mitchell were also at the event.
Wendy Maisey, Warrington Conservatives chairwoman, also attended and slammed the Labour council for reporting the event.
She accused it of ‘scraping the bottom of the barrel’ by involving the police.
Hundreds of people are thought to have attended the event, including Conservative MP Andy Carter, senior Labour councillors and members of the Cheshire constabulary
The council’s Labour leader Russ Bowden and deputy leader Cathy Mitchell were also at the event
Government guidelines issued when the lockdown began said that Remembrance Sunday events could go ahead if they were organised by councils or faith leaders.
However, Warrington council cancelled its official event at the cenotaph the day before the lockdown began ‘for safety reasons’.
A council spokesman said the ‘unofficial’ event that took place had led to concerns and it’therefore contacted Cheshire Police… to ascertain how the event was organised without prior notice and to identify what Covid-secure measures were in place’.
Tory MP Mr Carter said he had not been invited to the event and went to the cenotaph intending to lay a wreath privately.
Conservative MP Andy Carter said he had not been invited to the event and went to the cenotaph intending to lay a wreath privately
Labour councillors Mr Bowden said he had been walking past and stood with members of the public while Ms Mitchell was laying a wreath for her parish council.
He added that he had not been part of the event, which had been staged by ‘well-meaning people who tried to step into the space created by the council’s decision not to stage an event’.
However, he said he believed ‘the event didn’t comply with the rules’.
Deputy Chief Constable Julie Cooke said the Cheshire force would ‘review’ what happened.