Drivers' 'appalling' abuse of council staff at Remembrance Sunday in Biggleswade condemned by former mayor

A car was driven towards one member of staff, according to town councillor Madeline Russell, who said she was unimpressed by the security firm hired by the council under new government legislation.

Councillor Russell told a council meeting: “I’d like to raise the issue of Remembrance Sunday morning and the abuse some of our officers received from members of the public because of town centre road closures.

“It’s totally unacceptable the way people treated them, based on what I heard from the various staff,” she said. “One motorist started to drive his car towards one of our officers.

“The other thing that aggravates me apart from that appalling behaviour, we’re now under Martyn’s Law employing a security firm. The person from the company who was at that particular incident with the vehicle did absolutely nothing in support of our officer.

“If we have to employ these security firms, then we need to complain strongly when they don’t do what they’re supposed to and just stand by watching what’s happened.

“I’d like to put on record that I’m disgusted with the way some people treated our officers. The closures are advertised well in advance, they happen every year, and it’s only for an hour and a half.

“People were totally in the wrong. I also want it on record that it’s unacceptable for this security firm not to intervene and help.”

Town mayor Jonathan Woodhead thanked her, saying: “I wasn’t aware of the level of abuse directed at officers.

“I’m sorry to hear about this and that it was the case, in terms of the broader good things which happened on Sunday (November 8). The clerk can pass on my sadness to colleagues about that.

“We’ll review the security company when we do a wash-up of the event. I’m aware there were three police officers on duty on Sunday.

“It might have been appropriate to involve one of those, if it was getting quite difficult. But I would have relied on the security people to have done that.”

Councillor Russell explained: “I think it’s difficult when there are three police officers, but we have our own local authority officers at various points around the route. There’s also the issue of communication and whether we need more radio support.”

Councillor Woodhead added: “I’m aware officers bought some more (equipment) this year, but whether that’s enough I don’t know. That’s something we can consider.”

Martyn’s Law requires all organisations to increase resilience and defences against acts of terrorism. A previous BTC report referred to this as applying to the Market Square and High Street premises, as well as the surrounding area.

The legislation is in tribute to Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017.

Thanking officers in his update to the council, councillor Woodhead acknowledged: “It’s always a challenge to put on this event, and there’s pressure on that because of timings and the amount of people involved.

“The feedback certainly I’ve received until now from local residents has been very positive and very welcoming. I’m grateful to the public realm team and other staff who helped.”