Attacks on Met Police officers up 40% during lockdown

ATTACKS on police in London have risen sharply during the coronavirus lockdown, exclusive figures have shown.

Met Police figures showed 2,027 assaults on officers were recorded between May and July, a 38% increase compared with the same period in 2019.

Scotland Yard said the rise was partly driven by a series of high-profile protests and unlicensed music events marred by confrontations with police.

Assaults could have “long-term effects” on officers, the Met said.

In the 12 months to the end of July 2020, there were 6,668 victims of assaults on police, a 16% increase compared with the previous year.

These figures come just after two more police offers have been attacked in the capital in the last week.

A female officer was stabbed in the face with a pen on Sunday 16 August in Barnet, a 39-year-old man has been arrested with attempted murder.

While a male police officer was taken to hospital after being knocked unconscious during an arrest in Hackney on Tuesday night, a 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion on criminal damage and assaulting a police officer