Covid rule-breakers increasingly likely to be fined, Met police chief says

Dame Cressida Dick says it is ‘preposterous’ anyone could be unaware of their duty to follow rules

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has warned it is “increasingly likely” coronavirus rule-breakers will face fines during England’s third lockdown (Aaron Chown/PA )

Coronavirus rule-breakers are “increasingly likely” to face fines as police forces move to enforce lockdown restrictions, Britain’s most senior officer has warned.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said it was "preposterous" that anyone could be unaware of the need to follow the stringent measures designed to curb Covid-19 cases.

Writing in The Times, she said: "It is preposterous to me that anyone could be unaware of our duty to do all we can to stop the spread of the virus.

"We have been clear that those who breach Covid-19 legislation are increasingly likely to face fines."

The package of laws underpinning the lockdown, called the Health Protection Regulations, has been updated 65 times since March to apply to different levels of restrictions, local lockdowns and rules for masks and quarantine.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said officers should be engaging with people, explaining the law and encouraging them to follow it voluntarily before moving to enforcement.

The guidance has not changed since March, but in October leaders told officers they did not have to ask people to follow the law multiple times before issuing a fine.

While more than 32,000 coronavirus fines were issued in England and Wales between 27 March and 21 December, fewer than 1,000 were given for refusing to wear a mask.

Since laws on face coverings came into force last summer, police leaders have called for shops and businesses to enforce them.

A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) told The Independent the position has been re-stated during recent conversations with the government.

“It’s on the business in the first instance to resolve issues with their customers,” he added. “Local authority licensing also rests on shops being Covid-safe. It’s not just about individual wearing masks, it’s about the business doing what they can to keep them safe.”

He said that police would still respond to calls to altercations from supermarkets, and help staff if people are refusing to leave, and being violent or threatening.

Some supermarkets have said they will step up enforcement of in-store Covid measures and that safety remains the “top priority”.

Morrisons said customers who refuse to wear a mask without a medical exemption will be told to leave its stores, while Sainsbury's said its security staff will “challenge” shoppers who are not wearing masks or who enter stores in groups.

Meanwhile, ministers are reported to be mulling over introducing tougher measures in England, including the wearing of face coverings outdoors and a ban on people from different households meeting up for exercise unless they are in a support bubble.

Boris Johnson was accused of hypocrisy following reports that he went cycling at the Olympic Park in east London on Sunday - seven miles from his home - after imposing sweeping Covid restrictions on others.  

Under the current lockdown restrictions, the government advises exercise should be limited to once per day and you should not travel outside your local area.

Dame Cressida refused to comment on the prime minister’s reported outing when asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday.

She said: “I’m not going to comment on individual cases. What I can say is it is not against the law, that’s for sure.”

Government guidance is currently more stringent than the laws that police can enforce, and has been for much of the pandemic.

MPs, lawyers and campaign groups have blamed the gap for creating confusion and driving wrongful fines, such as the recently-retracted penalties given to two women who travelled to a Derbyshire reservoir for a walk.

While government guidance says people should only exercise outside once a day, in their local area and in a socially-distanced way, the law does not contain any of those requirements.

The Metropolitan Police commissioner was among those calling for greater clarity, telling the BBC: “The public are looking to all of us as role models, for all of us in public life … anything that brings greater clarity for officers and the public in general will be a good thing.”

Dame Cressida added: “We have had countless changes in the last year in terms of the restrictions that people are under.

”And so it can be complex both for the public and indeed for my frontline officers to know exactly what the regulations are now, and also for all of us as members of the public, what the guidance is.“

Paul Griffiths, president of the Police Superintendents’ Association, said “every member of society” had responsibility to help reduce coronavirus infections.

“The role of organisations, such as businesses – is to take every effort to minimise the risk of transmission,” he added.

“It is inevitable that questions are raised around regulations, which challenge our right to freedom of movement and is core to our society, but we have to remember what they are trying to do – save lives.  Police officers will do the right thing and use their insight, their experience, the guidance and their warranted powers, to support this.”

Health secretary Matt Hancock warned the NHS was under "very significant pressure" and told the public to reduce all social contact that is "not absolutely strictly necessary" in a bid to cut cases.

NHS England data shows there were 32,070 Covid-19 patients in English hospitals as of 8am on Monday. The figure is up 20 per cent compared with last week, and 81 per cent since Christmas Day.

A further 529 people died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus as of Monday, taking the UK total to 81,960 - though separate figures show there have now been 97,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

Additional reporting by PA