Tory election candidate warned by police over leaflet – Inside Croydon

Confused Leaflet: The Metropolitan Police have asked Tory candidate Hannah Gray to stop distributing an election leaflet that appears to be police-approved, when it is not

A Conservative General Election candidate has been told by the Metropolitan Police to stop distributing a campaign leaflet which was designed to appear to have the approval of the local force commander.

Hannah Gray, a councilor in Bromley, is the Conservative candidate in the Beckenham and Penge constituency, which borders Croydon.

Her leaflets feature a photo of her shaking hands with Inspector Luke Baldock, Bromley Borough Commander, under a headline that reads: ‘My plan. Reducing crime in our community.”

But according to Scotland Yard, Gray contributed to wrongdoing in the community by misrepresenting the Met Police and appearing to claim police support.

Tory Gray’s leaflet states: “I met Inspector Luke Baldock, the man in charge of Bromley Borough Police and was very impressed with his plan to ensure Safer Neighborhood teams are visible in the community and I am now working to ensure . officers have the resources to spend more time in the precincts they are responsible for…”.

Gray has been a councilor in Bromley for 10 years, during which her Tory colleagues in government cut the number of police by more than 20,000 and Boris Johnson, when Mayor of London, closed 65 police stations around the capital – as did the receptions that Grey. , in its takeaway leaflet, now says it wants to reopen in Penge and West Wickham.

The Metropolitan Police must walk a tricky line of impartiality in all political matters, particularly during election time when they are tasked with keeping the peace around candidates, rallies and polling stations.

Police officers routinely meet with elected representatives from the community to discuss policing all the time, and a Scotland Yard source confirmed the photo used in Gray’s leaflet was taken before the election was called.

Attempted shooting: Bromley District Commander Supt Luke Baldock

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said Inside Croydon, “The Metropolitan Police Service is impartial and does not endorse any candidate. It does not control how images of officers are used in campaign literature.

“The Metropolitan Police are aware of the circulation of a leaflet by a candidate which included a picture of an MPS officer. The Metropolitan Police asked the candidate to withdraw the leaflet from circulation.”

Inside Croydon understands that that “request” was made a week ago. But Penge residents contacted this website to confirm they had the puzzling leaflet stuck through their letterboxes just this week.

Inside Croydon contacted Gray to ask why she and her Tory supporters were still distributing the leaflet, even after the Met Police told them not to.

“He was fired,” Gray said. “He was shot. It was stopped.”

Asked again about the prospectus that is still being distributed this week, Gray declined to comment further.

She said: “That’s all I’m saying about this issue.” Then he hung up.

And to think that the Tories used to claim to be the party of law and order…

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