It's fair to say that the British Government have been met with their fair share of ridicule for their handling of coronavirus, and rightly so.
They failed to take the virus all that seriously early on, something that has likely cost many people their lives. While the Conservative Party have claimed they have been consistent in their policies, they have been anything but.
They have attempted to show that their handling of the virus has resulted in some positives, but this was taken to a farcical level today.
During their daily briefing, Secretary of State for the Home Department Priti Patel was giving an update on the current situation in the country.
She soon started to discuss the fall in crime in comparison to last year.
It's unsurprising that crime has fallen considering that far more people are stuck in their homes. However, that didn't stop her pointing out that they have helped see a drop in various forms of crime in comparison to this time last year, including shoplifting.
Did anyone tell the Home Secretary that the government had ordered the shops to close to slow down the spread of covid-19. Despite this #PritiPatel says that the shoplifting has dropped over the past few weeks. #Covid19UK #Covid_19 #lockdown pic.twitter.com/xj5vHFxhir
— Dinendra Haria (@coloursphotos) April 25, 2020
Data from the police shows a fall in overall crime during this coronavirus outbreak. Car crime, burglary, and shoplifting are all lower than the same period from this time last year.
Considering shops are not actually open, this isn't actually all that impressive.
This is also not her first gaff, with Patel's attempt to read a number a couple of weeks ago going viral.
Patel was unsurprisingly torn apart online for her comments:
Priti Patel just said she’s pleased that shoplifting is down compared to last year. I’ve come up with an explanation that might help...
2019 - Shops open.
2020 - Shops shut.— Elliot Gonzalez (@elliot_gonzalez) April 25, 2020
Shoplifting down is it Priti Patel?
Number of open shops is too - do you dare suppose there's a link??
I'll give you threeteen guesses...— Damien Willey #SupportTheRMT (@KernowDamo) April 25, 2020
Priti Patel has just informed us that shoplifting is down. Next up: deaths from the Bubonic Plague are on the wane and dinosaur attacks have dwindled.
— Geraint (@geraintgriffith) April 25, 2020
Priti Patel proudly telling us plebs that shoplifting is down.
Tomorrow we can look forward to Raab saying violence at football matches has been all but wiped out & on Monday Gove will announce that not a single person has been barred from any pubs for being drunk & disorderly.— 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 (@pearlylondon) April 25, 2020
Did #PritiPatel just tell us that shoplifting was down compared to the same period last year? No shit, Sherlock #PritiVacant
— mskatestafford (@mskatestafford) April 25, 2020
Good to hear from Priti Patel at Downing Street Briefing that shoplifting is down
Nothing to do with all the shops being closed.— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) April 25, 2020
When the Government sends out Priti Patel to lead the weekend coronavirus briefing is like when a manager gives the fringe players a run out in the Carabao Cup
— Toby Tarrant 🇺🇦❤ (@tobytarrant) April 25, 2020
Some good news as Priti Patel declares that shoplifting is down by three hundred thousand, thirty four, nine hundred and seventy four thousand percent. #dailybrief
— Otto English (@Otto_English) April 25, 2020
Re. Priti Patel bragging about the drop in shoplifting; I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say there’s probably also been a bit of a dip in car crashes, accidental drownings and people tripping over uneven paving stones.
Call it a hunch.— Mitch Benn 🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MitchBenn) April 25, 2020
Did #PritiPatel just claim that shoplifting is down? pic.twitter.com/dTgOOdNQQn
— ✌🏼ᔕEᗩᑎOᔕᗩYᔕ✌🏼 (@SeanoSays) April 25, 2020
