Watch: Priti Patel gives evidence to Covid-19 enquiry as ‘heavy-handed’ lockdown policing scrutinised
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Louise Thomas
Editor
Watch as Priti Patel will give evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry on Thursday (9 November).
The former home secretary is likely to face questions about her approach to border controls and “heavy-handed” policing of lockdown rules.
Ms Patel lobbied for stricter border controls in the early stages of the pandemic in an attempt to prevent the virus reaching the UK, but was overruled.
As home secretary, she defended the way police enforced lockdown measures, despite criticism of their approach.
She said she would “call the police” if she saw her neighbours flouting the rules and backed “strong enforcement”.
Other witnesses due at the inquiry on Thursday are Martin Hewitt, the former chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Jun Pang, policy and campaigns officer with human rights group Liberty.
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