South Thanet MP involved in warrant arrest during day with police

Police arrest a man who had skipped court while the MP looks on Photos via Chris Smee

It isn’t every person on the police wanted list who gets to chat to an MP while being arrested – but that is what happened to one man yesterday (October 4).

South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay was spending the day with officers in Thanet when they spotted a man in St Peter’s who was wanted on warrant.

An arrest was promptly made with the MP in tow.

Craig said: “I had a day with Kent Police, including time with each of the teams at Margate police station. I had a tour in a patrol car and the chap in question had not attended court yesterday. The magistrates had issued a warrant for arrest; so it just a routine pick up. I have no powers of arrest!”

Kent Police confirmed the arrest. A spokesperson said: “Officers attended Church Street in Broadstairs during the afternoon of Friday, October 4, where they arrested a 36-year old man from Margate who was wanted on warrant for failing to appear in court. He currently remains in police custody.”

Mr Mackinlay added: “By spending some time with hardworking Police officers in Thanet, I got a first-hand insight into how the Police help to safeguard vulnerable people and people suffering from mental ill health. While policing and crime continues to change, it’s clear to me that the commitment of our Police to prevent crime remains unaltered. I found the experience overwhelmingly positive and would like to thank local officers for inviting me to spend a day with them.

“Both the public and the Police alike want to see more officers patrolling our neighbourhoods to protect people and property, and cut crime – and so do I. That’s why we’re in the process of an unprecedented drive to recruit 20,000 more officers over the next three years to make our streets safer and make it simpler for officers to use stop and search powers.”

5 Comments

    • Correct.

      “The number of police officers in Kent has fallen by more than 500 in the last nine years, official figures show.

      The drastic decline comes as top officers call for more support from the government amid a growing knife crime crisis, with Kent revealed as having the fastest rise in knife crime in the entire country.

      There are 526 less police officers pounding the beat in the county than there was in 2010 when Theresa May became Home Secretary.”

      https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/how-police-numbers-have-fallen-in-kent-in-the-last-nine-years-200176/

      So after 9 years of cuts they will replace all those there cuts have lost. hardly anything to for a Conservative MP to celebrate is it.

  1. I have massive respect for the police and the job they do especially in these times of knife crime. I for once also respect our MP Craig Mackinlay for joining them for the day not knowing what they may come across. I hope him and his government stick to their word and give us a properly forced police force and not depleted as it is they do a magnificent job with the man power they have hopefully they will find enough men & women willing to fulfil their promises.

  2. Under the Tories, police numbers were cut by 22,000.
    If the plan is to recruit 20,000 new police officers (over what time scale), then the country is still 2000 short of what there were when the Tories came to power.
    Is this an example of creative accounting?

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