Met Police invite officers to Easter egg hunt and Londoners all make same joke

Businesses have said they are ‘astonished’ that officers had the time and energy to organise an Easter egg hunt for staff. 

Hundreds of highly trained staff, including those at spearheading Britain’s fight against violent extremists, work at the Empress building near Earl’s Court in west London. 

Some are counter terror experts who track and hunt critical threats to the UK although they have found time to plot a spot of light relief over easter. 

However, the response from those on their doorstep to the Easter hunt was less than positive. 

Construction worker Bill Cantley told Metro: ‘It’s astonishing they have the time and energy for an Easter egg hunt when they are hunting terrorists. It looks bad to the outside world. We don’t have time for an egg hunt on the building site. The gaffer wouldn’t be happy!’

Cafe worker Maya Jimenez, 24, said: ‘It’s not really appropriate to hold an Easter egg hunt.

‘They are nice people who work there we have customers from the police but it doesn’t look good to play around when we are told the terror threat is constantly there. They should think about how it looks to citizens.’

Chloe Fraser, 48, who lives nearby said she appreciated that hard working offices deserved some down time but that an Easter egg hunt, especially one that children were not invited to, looked ‘frivolous’. 

She told Metro: ‘It does look frivolous. They do a great job working to keep us safe but they are a public service and need to keep their professionalism reputation. An Easter egg hunt with no kids will wind people up.’

A hotel worker added: ‘The police do a very hard job but a lot of people work very hard. They need to keep their serious face on and I don’t think it’s good to let that slip.’ 

Former Met Police detective Peter Bleksley was among those who criticised the move, especially while crime in the capital ‘continues unabated’.

Reacting on social media, many Londoners called it a ‘joke’, while others sarcastically pointed out that the Met’s failure rate when it comes to solving crimes like theft and burglary didn’t bode too well.

One posted on X: ‘Given their inability to find criminals are we expecting the hunt to go well?’

Another user posted: ‘So they hunt Easter Eggs now? That makes me feel a whole lot safer.’

Manchester girl wrote: ‘I bet they don’t find any!!’

Geoff Strong added: ‘Shall we go round on Sunday & find the ones they missed!’

But others questioned the outrage at such an innocuous team-building activity, which Metro understands will take place during break times.

Tom Gaymor wrote: ‘I’ve delivered two MH (mental health) talks to SO15 (Counter Terrorism Command) recently, I’ve seen firsthand how hard the officers and staff are working, I’ve heard their stories, and the trauma they’ve been exposed to.

‘I do not begrudge those special people a family day, in fact I’m pleased they are experiencing one.’

Another user added: ‘So many companies take their staff on team building trips.

‘The Police used to do lots of things to make the job that little bit enjoyable. Those days have gone. If they have been reduced to treating their staff to an egg hunt, I find that sad, not bad.’

A Met spokesperson said: ‘Every day our officers work round the clock to keep London safe and they will always prioritise urgent jobs and core policing work.’

Earlier this year, the force was criticised for advising residents in northwest London to ‘play classical music’ to deter criminals after a spate of robberies.

After sending photos of alleged criminal activity to the Met, one said he got an email back advising him to film future incidents if safe to do so and call 999.

It added: ‘You can also contact your housing association/the council and ask them to play classical music as this has proven to deter and prevent crimes.’

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