Priti Patel releases ‘law and order’ campaign video – but there’s one problem

Conservative election candidates seem to be having some trouble checking their video backgrounds for any possible gaffes as of late, as Sunday not only saw Rishi Sunak stand in front of a blank flipchart in a dig at “Labour’s plan” (only for the rival party to clap back with an edited version), but former home secretary Priti Patel released a video on “law and order” with one big mistake on display behind her.

In a post on Twitter/X, the candidate for Witham in Essex wrote: “My position is crystal clear on law and order. I delivered tougher prison sentences for heinous criminals, I recruited over 20,000 police officers and backed our police officers through the Police Covenant.”

Some 20,951 new recruits joined the police between 2020 and 2023 in England and Wales, though London’s Metropolitan Police failed to meet its individual target.

However, a bigger problem lies – pun not intended - in the video accompanying Patel’s tweet, which sees the ex-minister standing next to a framed picture of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

You know, the ex-Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP who made history when he became the first PM found to have broken the law while in office, due to attending a party in Downing Street while strict social distancing rules were in place due to the coronavirus pandemic?

And so, people were quick to point out the unfortunate hypocrisy contained in her social media post:

Patel’s comments on law and order come as Labour continues to push its “first steps for change”, with one of them being a crackdown on “antisocial behaviour” by recruiting “more neighbourhood police paid for by ending wasteful contracts, tough new penalties for offenders, and a new network of youth hubs”.

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