The Yorkshire Post says: Assaults that shame Britain '“ public workers need better protection from the law

THE distress caused to public officials when they're subjected to mindless physical or verbal abuse was on the political agenda long before last year's wave of terrorist attacks, and Grenfell Tower inferno, led to national appreciation for the emergency services '“ and the risks they take '“ as they run towards trouble while bystanders are led away for their own safety.

Emergency services at the scene of the Manchester bombing.

Ever since she was first elected to Parliament in 2015, Halifax MP Holly Lynch – herself a policeman’s daughter – has been championing this issue and her original Private Member’s Bill, which has now been taken up by her Labour counterpart Chris Bryant, will, if passed, lead to more draconian sentences for those callous criminals who assault police officers, paramedics, firefighters and their many colleagues.

Yet, hours after a special event to honour all those who responded so heroically to last May’s suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, it’s very troubling to learn that front-line council staff have been assaulted or abused on more than 7,250 occasions over the past two years in Yorkshire alone. Ordinary people just doing their job, those kicked, punched, bitten, assaulted or verbally attacked include a pregnant teacher in Doncaster who required A&E treatment.

Such behaviour is simply unacceptable and there’s a compelling case for local authority workers and NHS staff coming under the auspices of the legislation now being considered by Parliament as a result of the aforementioned Ms Lynch’s efforts – nobody should go to work to be abused, or attacked, by the very people that they are trying to serve and assist.

As such, The Yorkshire Post appeals to MPs to give this issue the same attention now being afforded to the treatment of Parliamentary staff and for every party to put their differences to one side and come together – in the national interest – to pass legislation that acts as a genuine deterrent and gives emergency workers, and others, the protection that they need and deserve. For, if the current laws were effective, there would not be so many terrifying incidents causing so much shame to this country.