Fire Brigades Union deletes 'offensive' tweet about MPS officers
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has deleted an ‘offensive and ill-judged’ tweet about the events at the Clapham Common vigil following a backlash from both firefighters and police officers.
The tweet, published on Sunday afternoon (March 14), said: “We utterly condemn the violence meted out by the Metropolitan Police last night on Clapham Common. These grotesque displays have no place in our society.”
The Metropolitan Police Federation responded with a tweet of its own, stating: “These are appalling words from emergency services colleagues. Police and firefighters often work side by side in testing environments – they should be showing solidarity. For the FBU to make such a sweeping statement without being aware of the facts is embarrassingly out of touch.”
The tweet has since been deleted. John Apter, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, tweeted: “The @fbunational has done the right thing and removed the offensive and ill-judged tweet about my @metpoliceuk colleagues. The backlash from policing, and from many firefighters, was there for all to see. Right that it’s been removed.”
