A senior Herts police chief has said the force neither encourages nor discourages officers from 'taking the knee'.

Over the summer there were a number of Black Lives Matters demonstrations in the county, where some on-duty officers were spotted 'taking the knee'.

In June, Hitchin hosted a well-attended, peaceful protest on Windmill Hill where many from the town took the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Taking a knee as a form of protest came from American Football quarterback Colin Kaepernick who sat on the bench during the US national anthem to protest against police brutality and racism in a pre-season game in August 2016.

Kaepernick said at the time: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour."

He discussed his motivations with Nate Boyer, a military veteran and former National Football League player, who advised him to kneel because he thought it was more 'respectful'.

The practice has been allowed by police chiefs in Hertfordshire, although they acknowledge that 'in some operational situations it is not appropriate'.

Assistant Chief Constable Bill Jephson from Herts police said: "We continue to work closely with all of our communities, striving to deliver fair and proportionate policing for everyone and we do not support any particular political view or group."

"We do however, recognise the need to tackle racism and injustice in any form.

"As a police service we will continue to apply the law with impartiality. The act of taking the knee will mean different things to different people.

"There are many within the police and the community who have chosen to take part in this symbolic act as a mark of sadness or anger about the way that George Floyd lost his life, or to take a stand generally against racism, prejudice or crimes motivated by hate.

"As such the force neither encourages nor discourages officers from taking the knee, but directs that in some operational situations it is not appropriate.

"As with many aspects of policing we will keep our position under review."

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See Nub News for more on the Black Lives Matter movement in Hitchin later this week.