Britain’s most senior police officer today described grabbing a Sky News journalist’s microphone and dropping it to the ground as a ‘trivial sort of side line’.
Sir Mark Rowley was asked on Monday by reporter Rob Catherall if he was ‘going to end two-tier policing’ amid the riots as he rushed out of a Cobra meeting.
But the Metropolitan Police commissioner didn’t break his stride as he removed the microphone and dropped it outside the Cabinet Office on Whitehall.
Two days later, speaking to Sky News this morning, Sir Mark smiled as he said: ‘The incident with this guy, journalist, was trivial, it was a trivial sort of side line.’
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said its commissioner was ‘in a hurry’ as he walked through a small group of photographers and journalists to get to his car.
Sir Mark Rowley grabbed the microphone when he was asked on Monday by reporter Rob Catherall if he was ‘going to end two-tier policing’ as he rushed out of a Cobra meeting
The Metropolitan Police commissioner didn’t break his stride as he removed reporter Rob Catherall’s microphone and dropped it outside the Cabinet Office on Whitehall on Monday
And Sir Mark previously said it was not his intention to knock the microphone to the ground – he had simply tried to move it out of his path as he left the meeting.
Monday’s Cobra meeting – which brought together ministers and police chiefs – was held after a sixth day of disorder on Sunday saw rioters clash with police and storm hotels housing asylum seekers.
Its purpose was to allow the Government to set out a response to the violent unrest which has broken out across the country following the Southport stabbings on July 29.
In his interview with Sky News today, Sir Mark added: ‘We had some very constructive meetings at Cobra. It’s really helpful that Government is looking to bring all the arms of Government behind supporting us and that’s very welcome to chiefs.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley speaks to Sky News this morning about the microphone-grabbing incident on Monday, saying: ‘It was a trivial sort of side line’
‘Meanwhile we’re facing a very big challenge, there’s no shirking from that.
‘But I’m very proud of the men and women of the Metropolitan Police and I know my colleagues across the country as chiefs are equally proud of their men and women.
‘These are men and women who are willing to stand in the middle of violence and confront it, in a situation that 99 per cent of the population would run a million miles from. They’re prepared to do that to protect the peace and keep people safe, and that deserves our admiration.’
On Monday evening, Sir Mark apologised for the microphone incident.
He said: ‘This morning I was part of a positive and constructive Cobra meeting with the Prime Minister about our collective response to hateful behaviour and violent disorder across the country.
Sir Mark Rowley arrives at the Cabinet Office in London yesterday for another Cobra meeting
Sir Mark Rowley leaves the Cabinet Office in London last night after the latest Cobra session
‘There’s been a story running all day about my exit from the meeting. This is a distraction from the critical events we are dealing with.
‘It was agreed the Prime Minister would provide an update afterwards and it was not my place to speak publicly. In an effort to move a microphone out of my path.
‘I’m sorry that I knocked it to the floor. That was never my intention. We remain focused on the critical and urgent matters at hand.’
In a separate interview today, Sir Mark rejected accusations of two-tier policing as ‘complete nonsense’ and criticised those voicing the claims for putting officers at risk.
Responding to claims that far-right riots have been dealt with more harshly than other recent unrest, he told broadcasters: ‘It’s complete nonsense.
People protest in Middlesbrough on Sunday following the stabbing attacks in Southport
‘We have commentators from either end of the political spectrum who like to throw accusations of bias at the police because we stand in the middle, we operate independently under the law without fear or favour.’
He also added that ‘thousands of officers (are) on tonight’ to protect immigration law specialists being targeted by rioters.
Sir Mark said the targeting of immigration lawyers and services are ‘at the center of our planning for tonight’.
Police remain braced for planned unrest as they monitor reports of at least 30 possible gatherings and threats against immigration law specialists.
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Around 100 people have already been charged in connection with the unrest, and charges continued to be brought last night, with defendants appearing in court today.
Approximately 6,000 specialist officers will be at the ready by the end of the week for the so-called ‘standing army’ of police announced by Sir Keir on Monday.
Police officers with protesters outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on Sunday
These officers have been taken away from their regular duties to deal with ongoing disorder.
In addition to more riot police being put on stand-by, forces are also stepping up neighbourhood policing patrols, teams of detectives are drawing on CCTV, body-worn footage and making use of retrospective facial recognition to identify perpetrators of violence, and intelligence teams are monitoring well-known influencers and organisers for activity.
More than 400 people have been arrested after disorder around England and Northern Ireland, according to police sources, with the number expected to rise in the coming days.
The violence was sparked by false claims about the identity of the teenager suspected of killing three young girls and injuring several others in a knife attack in Southport on July 29, and has seen shops looted and hotels housing asylum seekers attacked.
