The police commissioner in the English county of West Midlands announced this week cops could break into homes and split up family Christmas dinners this holiday season.
“If we think there’s large groups of people gathering where they shouldn’t be, then police will have to intervene,” David Jamieson told The Telegraph. “If, again, there’s flagrant breaking of the rules, then the police would have to enforce.”
“It’s not the police’s job to stop people enjoying their Christmas,” he continued. “However, we are there to enforce the rules that the government makes, and if the government makes those rules, then the government has to explain that to the public.”
Jamieson didn’t stop there. The country’s furlough plan — which ensured workers placed on leave during the pandemic received 80% of their income — is set to expire in November. The police commissioner said he’s sitting on a “time bomb,” waiting on the financial assistance to run out.
“We’re getting very near the stage where you could see a considerable explosion of frustration and energy,” he explained. “Things are very on the edge in a lot of communities and it wouldn’t take very much to spark off unrest, riots, damage.”
Parts of the West Midlands are currently in tier two lockdown measures, which means people cannot mix with people from any other household or gather indoors, Metro reported.
Jamieson’s comments are a direct contradiction to those of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had hinted the draconian measures could be relaxed for Christmas day so people could enjoy a “normal” holiday.
In early October, Johnson told ITV News journalist Emma Hutchinson his administration is doing “everything we can to make sure Christmas for everybody is as normal as possible.”
Meanwhile, in the U.S., New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is encouraging city residents to avoid traveling at all over the holidays.