Bunch Of Constables

‘WHEN Sophie, Countess of Wessex, felt an agonising pain in her stomach on Saturday afternoon, she did what anyone would do in that situation - she called 999.

‘And then I pulled the baby out…’

And the police did what the police did and forgot to pass on the message to the ambulance service, instead sending squad cars to beef up security at Bagshot Park.

It meant that Sophie had to wait a potentially lethal 30 minutes before medical assistance arrived - and it also diverted the police from their other duties.

For instance, they could have been sitting in a lay-by and lying in wait for the world’s top rally drivers, four of whom were yesterday banned from driving for speeding en route to a world championship warm-up event.

They could have been helping to prosecute head-teacher Pam Mitchelhill, who is being hauled before magistrates and accused of slapping a six-year-old pupil despite the fact that the little girl herself has told police that nothing happened.

Or they could be investigating Dr Peter Foster, the Bishop of Chester, for suggesting that some homosexual men and women could ‘reorientate’ themselves.

Certainly, former shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe is clear where her priorities lie.

‘I don’t want to be told that the police can’t attend the scene of a burglary or stake out a drug dealer’s house when they are investigating stuff like this,’ she tells the Mail.

However, Sophie can comfort herself that her trip to the hospital was uneventful unlike the poor teenager who was being driven to hospital along the M5 when she fell out the back of the speeding ambulance and died.’

Posted: 11th, November 2003 | In: Tabloids Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink