By Eniola Amadu
A senior British police officer, Gavin Stephens, has urged politicians to “reduce and defuse tensions” rather than fuel divisions, warning that growing polarisation over asylum seekers is placing a serious strain on law enforcement.
Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, made the remarks after weeks of demonstrations and counter-protests across the UK sparked by the government’s controversial policy of housing asylum seekers in hotels.
His intervention followed recent claims by Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, who in July warned that Britain was on the verge of “civil disobedience on a vast scale.”
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Although Stephens avoided naming specific politicians, he directly criticised inflammatory rhetoric that he said was deepening an already volatile climate.
He dismissed Farage’s claims as “exaggerated” but acknowledged that heated public debate had increased community tensions and, in some cases, led to “criminality” on the streets.
According to senior policing sources, there is mounting frustration within the ranks, with some officers believing that rhetoric from right-wing politicians has been reckless at a time of heightened division.
Stephens himself expressed regret over the trend, saying: “There is a climate of increasing tension and polarity in what we’re seeing, and it’s a huge disappointment to all of us that we’ve seen criminality creep into this protest activity.”
Official figures show that police forces across the UK recorded 3,081 protests between June and August, up from 2,942 in the same period last year and a dramatic increase from just 928 in 2023.
This surge has created “chronic pressure” on policing, diverting vital resources from crime prevention and community safety.
Reflecting on his 32 years of service, including as Surrey’s chief constable, Stephens said cycles of public unrest were not new. “The last two summers have definitely felt like that, and this summer has felt like an enduring summer, rather than the sort of acute one that we had last year,” he observed.
Despite the challenges, he expressed optimism that communities could regroup. “I think we always find a moment as a society, as communities, to sort of reset and come back together again,” he said.
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Stephens stressed that the police’s role in facilitating peaceful protest remains non-negotiable, while noting that heightened tensions were not nationwide.
“There are tens of thousands of areas across the country where this does not register,” he added.
