Contingency planning for up to 900 police Covid fatalities: PFNI chairman

As the potential impact of the Covid outbreak began to emerge in the early days of the pandemic, police chiefs discussed contingency plans for up to 900 police fatalities, Mark Lindsay has revealed.
By Mark Rainey
Published 11th Feb 2022, 14:21 BST
Updated 11th Feb 2022, 14:29 BST
A Black Lives Matter demonstration at Belfast City Hall in June 2020. Photo: Declan Roughan/PressEyeA Black Lives Matter demonstration at Belfast City Hall in June 2020. Photo: Declan Roughan/PressEye
A Black Lives Matter demonstration at Belfast City Hall in June 2020. Photo: Declan Roughan/PressEye

The chairman of the police federation also said he was “disappointed” at the lack of consideration given to who would enforce the coronavirus regulations being rushed through Stormont.

“Nobody knew what was going to happen with Covid. At the start I can remember us discussing the prospect of maybe eight or nine hundred officers being lost to the virus through fatalities,” he told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme.

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“What particularly disappointed me at the time was the nature of the legislation. Albeit they had to move quickly, there was very little consideration given to who would police it, and who would actually enforce the legislation.

Police Federation NI chairman Mark Lindsay. Brian Lawless/PA WirePolice Federation NI chairman Mark Lindsay. Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Police Federation NI chairman Mark Lindsay. Brian Lawless/PA Wire

“It was too vague, there were big holes in it... powers of entry, all those sorts of things that wasn’t properly covered off.”

Mr Lindsay said more could have been done to reassure officers in relation to their own safety.

“There was also... the refusal to consider vaccination for frontline officers – frontline officers who day and daily were out there doing their best, who had the same family concerns as everybody else about catching the virus, but we had no control measures in place to protect them.

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“Vaccination of those frontline officers would have would have sent a great message to police that the Executive actually supported them in what they were doing.”

The PSNI was heavily criticised by the police ombudsman over its enforcement of Covid regulations at Black Lives Matter protests in Belfast and Londonderry in 2020 – with complaints of unfairness and discrimination upheld.

READ: Ombudsman reports ‘lacking substantive evidence’ and ‘inexcusable’

READ: Police Federation chairman stepping down after seven years

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