I rise to present a petition on behalf of residents of Warwickshire. Locally, there has been a separate petition signed by some 2,000 residents related to this same issue: the matter of Warwickshire police and the Warwickshire hunt agreeing a secret protocol, following an alleged crime by the Warwickshire hunt in December 2022. Residents have raised their concerns over the relationship between Warwickshire police and the police and crime commissioner, who is understood to be a member of the Countryside Alliance—an organisation that campaigns for foxhunting.
The petition states:
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to require that Warwickshire Police publish the contents of the protocol.”
Following is the full text of the petition:
[The petition of residents of Warwickshire,
Declares that on Wednesday December 14th 2022, Warwickshire Police issued a Community Protection Notice (CPN) to the Warwickshire Hunt Limited after repeated anti-social use of public roads in Warwickshire; notes that the hunt put in an appeal meaning the CPN was unenforceable until the appeal had been heard; further notes that the CPN would have been a sensible and reasonable solution to keep the community safe on the roads; further notes that days before it was due in court, Warwickshire Police dropped the CPN, replacing it with a non-legally binding ‘protocol’; further notes that Warwickshire Police are refusing to publish the contents of this secret agreement they now have with the Warwickshire Hunt; further notes that it has been reported that Warwickshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner is a membership of Countryside Alliance which campaigns for fox hunting; and further declares that it would be in the best interests of the public and police to bring full transparency to this issue and make the protocol public.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to require that Warwickshire Police publish the contents of the protocol.
And the petitioners remain etc.]
[P002945]