Warrington Remembrance: Police to 'review' event attended by MP
- Published
Mr Carter said he had not been invited and had been there to lay a wreath privately
An "unofficial" Remembrance event attended by an MP has been reported to police over possible Covid-19 breaches.
Warrington Borough Council said it had called police over a "large gathering" at the town's cenotaph on Sunday, which went ahead "despite" restrictions.
Warrington Conservatives chairwoman Wendy Maisey, who was present alongside MP Andy Carter, said she was "appalled" by the Labour-led council's report.
Cheshire Police were present, but the force said it would "review" the event.
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Mr Carter, the Conservative MP for Warrington South, was seen at the event alongside senior Labour councillors.
He said he had not been invited to the event and went to the cenotaph intending to lay a wreath privately.
He added that he had "no reason to believe" it did not comply with the rules.
Ms Maisey said social distancing was observed and accused the council of "scraping the bottom of the barrel" by involving the police.
'Well-meaning people'
Government guidelines issued when England's lockdown began stipulated that Remembrance events could go ahead if they were organised by councils or faith leaders.
The council cancelled Warrington's official event at the cenotaph the day before the lockdown began "for safety reasons".
An authority spokesman said the "unofficial" event that took place had led to concerns and the council had "therefore contacted Cheshire Police... to ascertain how the event was organised without prior notice and to identify what Covid-secure measures were in place".
Lockdown guidelines state that event organisers should record the contact details of attendees for test and trace purposes, and members of the public should be "discouraged" from attending.
The council's Labour leader Russ Bowden, who was seen at the event with the deputy leader Cathy Mitchell, 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 and was "aware of the concerns raised".
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