Victorian premier denounces ‘ugly scenes’ at protests; CFMEU boss admits union members were present; demonstrators warned to stay at home after 62 people arrested. Follow all the day’s news
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11.45pm BST
Patton has been asked if police moved in too late yesterday, allowing the protest to truly take hold.
Patton:
Look, hindsight is a wonderful thing and it’s a very easy thing to sit back in an armchair and consider what could have, should have, or might have occurred.
All I can say is that that was a very fluid and very challenging environment that took place yesterday. The police commanders who were involved, the police on the ground did everything they could to ensure public safety.
11.42pm BST
Reporter:
Can you guarantee there won’t be a situation where members of the public are sitting in their cars on freeways surrounded by these people?
No police commissioner anywhere in the world can give any guarantee when you have a large group of several thousand angry men predominantly intent on taking over an area or being confrontational with police. No law enforcement agency anywhere in the world or commissioner can give any guarantees to that.
The only guarantee I can give you is that we will act swiftly and we do everything we can to prevent that from occurring.
