Priti Patel defends police over ‘strong enforcement’ of Covid rules

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Hordes of people were seen flocking to beaches and town centres today despite Boris Johnson’s pleas for families to stay at home as Britain records 563 deaths – the highest Sunday toll in eight months. 

Weekend walkers were spotted strolling along a packed Tynemouth Longsands beach in North Tyneside this afternoon, leaving carparks full to the brim.

New Government guidelines dictate that daily exercise must be taken in one’s local area – but it is unclear how far today’s visitors came for a welcome breath of fresh air. 

In Liverpool, football fans packed together behind barriers to catch a glimpse of the players heading into the Marine AFC v Tottenham Hotspur match today. 

None of the crowd were socially distanced, despite police officers watching on. 

And Dovestones Reservoir in Oldham was ‘swamped’ with visitors, leaving drivers forced to park on the double yellow lines landing them with fines.

Photos shared to social media showed a traffic officer slapping yellow notices on a number of cars parked on the side of the road.

And in London masses of people were seen taking to Hampstead high street. 

Long queues of people wrapped up warm were seen coming from food stalls and cafes in the area.

Meanwhile in Derbyshire, mountain rescue had to save a group of plane-crash enthusiasts who got stuck in deep snow on a five-hour walk.

The group – all from Manchester – broke lockdown to hunt for the B-29 crash site in Bleaklow Moor when one member became too tired to carry on.

And in Prestatyn, Wales, police stopped a learner driver who’d driven an uninsured car 60 miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, to go to the beach in North Wales.  

Under the current rules in England, people must not leave their home unless they have a ‘reasonable excuse’ – which includes exercise. 

Citizens are allowed to exercise with one other person or with their household or support bubble, but not outside their local area. 

It is unclear whether everyone who flocked to Britain’s countryside hotspots live locally or had to drive from afar. 

Their countryside excursions came the same day Britain today announced a further 563 Covid deaths – the third deadliest Sunday of the entire pandemic. 

The last time so many deaths were announced on a Sunday was on April 12, when 657 were recorded. 

Infections also continue to be high with 54,940 announced today, marking the thirteenth day in a row with daily cases above the 50,000 mark.

It comes as it was revealed that police arrested a 19-year-old for planning to hold a suspected unlicensed music event. 

The teenager advertised a ‘Bristol Freerave’ on social media at an undisclosed location.  

He has since been released under investigation.

Avon and Somerset police said 38 fixed penalty notices for breaches of Covid regulations were issued, while around 30 minors were given advice by officers.

A further arrest was made in connection with a drink driving offence and a vehicle was seized for having no insurance.  

It comes as the UK reported the highest number of hospital deaths on a Sunday in eight months.

It is an increase of 50 deaths compared with last Sunday’s reporting, and an increase of 197 deaths compared with December 27.   

This number is a huge leap compared to previous Sundays when 448 were recorded on January 3 and 301 on December 27.

Today’s death toll is the highest Sunday increase since May 3.

The grim figure brings the total number of UK coronavirus deaths to 81,431.  

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 97,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The Government also said that, as of 9am on Sunday, there had been a further 54,940 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 3,072,349.  

Priti Patel today defended police as they began strict application of Covid rules that includes £200 fines and less tolerance for rule-breakers. 

The Home Secretary warned that officers ‘will not hesitate’ to take action because the increasing number of new Covid-19 cases proved there was a need for ‘strong enforcement’ in cases where people were clearly breaking the rules.      

Police tactics have come in for scrutiny after Derbyshire Police handed out £200 fines to two women who drove separately to go for a walk at a remote beauty spot situated around five miles from their homes. 

It comes as footage emerged showing three police officers surrounding a woman for allegedly leaving her house more than once in a day.

Another four officers appear to arrest a different woman for what she claims was ‘sitting on a bench’ on the seafront in Bournemouth.

Forces across England have urged people to stay home and avoid travelling as they continue to fine Covid rule-breakers.

Several constabularies issued the message on Saturday as doctors said pressure on the NHS from coronavirus could get worse in the coming weeks.

Ms Patel said: ‘Our police officers are working tirelessly to keep us safe. Not only are they continuing to take criminals off our streets, but they are also playing a crucial role in controlling the spread of the virus.

‘The vast majority of the public have supported this huge national effort and followed the rules.

‘But the tragic number of new cases and deaths this week shows there is still a need for strong enforcement where people are clearly breaking these rules to ensure we safeguard our country’s recovery from this deadly virus.

 

‘Enforcing these rules saves lives. It is as simple as that. Officers will continue to engage with the public across the country and will not hesitate to take action when necessary.’   

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky’s Ridge on Sunday more people were obeying the rules than in the November lockdown, but added: ‘Absolutely I’m going to back the police. The challenge here is that every flex can be fatal. 

‘You might look at the rules and think ”well it doesn’t matter that much if I just do this or do that”, but these rules are not there as boundaries to be pushed, they’re the limit of what people should be doing.’

In other developments:

• Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the rollout of two million fast-result ‘lateral flow’ tests for anyone in England who needs to leave their home for work, in a bid to identify the estimated one in three asymptomatic ‘silent spreaders’;
• Downing Street is expected to delay local elections from May until the autumn because of the disruption caused by the pandemic;
• An expert study concluded there is no clear evidence that closing schools can reduce the spread of coronavirus, despite the Government’s claim on Tuesday that it had no choice but to shut the education system down;
• Some state school heads were revealed to be blocking live online lessons on the grounds that it was an invasion of teachers’ privacy, as Tory MPs called on Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to emulate Margaret Thatcher’s tough approach to striking miners in the 1980s in dealing with militant teaching unions;
• Scientists advising the Government claimed that lockdown measures in England need to be more strict – with some calling for ‘Asian-style’ curbs – as current rules were ‘still allowing a lot of activity which is spreading the virus’;
• But ‘Professor Lockdown‘ Neil Ferguson has said high infection rates and the UK’s mass vaccine rollout could see herd immunity against the coronavirus achieved before the end of the year – meaning a return to normal by autumn;
• Tory MP Andrew Bridgen called on Derbyshire Police to rescind the £200 fines handed out to friends Jessica Allen and Eliza Moore, who drove five miles to take a walk at a beauty spot;
• British holidaymakers were warned that they face having to quarantine abroad for up to a fortnight if they fail a Covid test when they prepare to fly home;
• Experts said travellers from South Africa are taking indirect flights to Britain to dodge the travel ban.  

In North Tyneside today – a popular choice for Britons eager for a hit of fresh air – car parks were jammed and huge queues formed outside cafes selling takeaway hot drinks. 

One local resident said: ‘It’s crazy. I can’t believe how busy it is. It’s actually busier than usual.

‘These people are putting themselves and their families at risk by being here.

‘The Government’s message is clear. You should act like you have the virus.

‘I saw a police van earlier, but it just drove along the seafront, it didn’t stop.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any enforcement of the rules at all.’

The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s new guidance, issued on Wednesday according to the Sunday Telegraph, said: ‘Officers should continue to engage members of the public and explain changes. If necessary they should offer encouragement to comply.

‘However if the individual or group does not respond appropriately, then enforcement can follow without repeated attempts to encourage people to comply with the law.

‘We police by consent. The initial police response should be to encourage voluntary compliance.’

The previous guidance from December 9, said: ‘We police by consent. The initial police response should be to encourage voluntary compliance.’

A Home Office source told the Telegraph police are set to ‘move through the gears’, warning: ‘We are going to see more rapid movement to enforcement.

‘Over 1,000 people died yesterday. It is important that everyone sticks to the rules. The rules have been around for long enough.

‘If there was a gunman who killed 1,000 people yesterday running around the country and the Government said “stay at home” everyone would say “OK I’ll do that, I won’t go for a coffee with some friends and walk around the park”.’

In Liverpool, police were pictured looking on as football supporters who had gathered outside the Marine v Spurs FA Cup blatantly ignored social distancing rules. 

Football fans were packed behind barriers outside the Rossett Park stadium in Crosby to catch a glimpse of players in the Marine AFC v Tottenham Hotspur match on Sunday. 

MailOnline asked Merseyside Police if any action had been taken for breaches of Covid laws.

A spokesman said it was ‘factually incorrect’ to describe the crowds as ‘huge’, adding police were there ‘as a planned response to manage road closures, public safety and coach arrivals as well’.

‘It isn’t a simple case of clearing an area of people,’ he said.

Superintendent Andy Rankine from Merseyside Police told MailOnline: ‘Officers are in Crosby this afternoon ahead of Marine FC’s FA Cup tie with Tottenham Hotspur. 

‘A small gathering took place ahead of the arrival of the team coaches, and road closures were put in place to facilitate this arrival safely. 

‘The vast majority of people present were adhering to social distancing measures and those who were not were advised by officers. 

‘As we have done throughout this pandemic, we will always strive to encourage people to disperse and go home peacefully. 

‘But where we face blatant breaches of legislation, people ignoring the restrictions and even obstructing police from carrying out their duty, our officers will not hesitate to take enforcement action. 

‘Those attending have now left the area and we hope everyone enjoys the occasion safely at home.’  

Police in Wales have blasted ‘selfish Covid rule-breakers’ who are ‘blatantly’ defying the law and wasting police time.

Their criticism came after more than 100 cars were turned away from Moel Famau – on the border between Flintshire and England – by Saturday lunchtime.

A Wales police and crime commissioner vowed to clamp down on rule breakers – and focus on ‘enforcement’ rather than engagement.

North Wales Police’s rural crime team wrote: ‘Another day wasted dealing with Covid rule breakers. So frustrating that we have to deal with these people who simply don’t care whilst the vast majority of us do the right thing and stay at home We are seeing people from England and various areas of Wales… so selfish.’

The force said people were arrested overnight and taken to custody for failing to provide their details for breaching Covid restrictions.

Superintendent Nick Evans said: ‘Wales is under Alert Level 4 restrictions and infections are dangerously high. Our teams will therefore continue to target those who are blatantly breaching the rules, placing others at risk and putting further demand on our over-stretched NHS.

‘Level 4 restrictions state that exercise should start and finish from home and that nobody should be travelling unless essential.

‘The restrictions are in place to prevent the spread of the virus, protect the NHS and save lives. They apply to every single one of us and it’s disappointing to think that some do not believe the restrictions apply to them. 

‘The restrictions are all about nudging back the infection rate, so rule breaking, however small, could cost the life of yours or someone else’s loved one. ‘

On Friday, two people had to be rescued by the North East Wales Search and Rescue team after becoming ‘disorientated’ in severe weather conditions during a walk up Moel Famau.

The pair had gone for a walk from home but they raised the alarm by phoning the policing after losing their bearings as conditions deteriorated rapidly due to snow and poor visibility.

Welsh rules allow for fixed penalty notices to be issued ranging from £60 to £10,000. But the region’s police and crime commissioner

Welsh police and crime commissioner Arfon Jones said it is time for a tougher approach. He said: ‘I would like to commend most people for behaving responsibly at this difficult time but those who choose not to can expect to be held to account.

‘Unfortunately, there are far too many selfish people who are flouting the guidelines and they are turbo-charging the spread of this deadly virus.

‘Their actions are totally irresponsible and life-threatening. If they have no regard for their own health, they should think of their loved ones.

‘It is now time to forget the mantra of engage, encourage and educate and focus on enforcement so we can clamp down on the Covid rule breakers and prevent this reckless behaviour. The stay home and stay safe message is all more important because the new mutant strain of Covid-19 is even more infectious.

‘This has inevitably ramped up the threat of community transmission, with 70 per cent of cases in north Wales linked the new variant. As a consequence, the people of north Wales are at risk like never before.’ 

A National Police Chiefs Council spokesman said: ‘We’ve been guiding officers since October to move more quickly to issuing a fine where people are clearly breaching Covid regulations and not listening to encouragement.

‘This approach continues in this dangerous stage of the pandemic. There is no specific rule on the number of warnings officers should give – officers continue to use their judgement.’

The new rules were on full show on Saturday when a woman was surrounded by three police who claimed she had left her house more than once.

The woman, who is joined by an elderly man, bursts into tears as the police interrogate her over the alleged lockdown violation in Bournemouth.

Another three officers appear to arrest a different woman for what she claims was ‘sitting on a bench’ on the seafront.

There are about ten servicemen out on patrol which appeared to outnumber the number of pedestrians.

One officer tells the first woman: ‘At the moment you’re allowed out for exercise once a day.

‘You’ve been filmed today in the town centre and around here and walking up and down.’

Another officer shows her the rules she was said to have broken on a mobile phone but she interrupts when she hears the words ‘anti-social manner’.

She asks: ‘Am I acting in an anti-social manner.’ The man with her asks: ‘What’s anti-social.’

The officer, who was wearing a face covering, continues but the woman starts crying and wipes her eyes.

She says: ‘How have I acted ant-socially, I was sat on a bench having a cup of coffee, that is not anti-social.’

The policewoman says ‘you’re acting anti-social now’, to which the woman replies: ‘Well yes, you’re provoking me.’

They continue to argue and the woman refuses to give the officer her details when asked.

Meanwhile the cameraman walks over to another part of the promenade where a woman is being cuffed by four different officers.

The filmer asks: ‘What’s going on, why are you putting her hands behind her back? What are you doing?’

The woman, wearing glasses and a long red coat, says: ‘I was sitting on a bench. I was sitting on a bench.’

The four officers lead her away in handcuffs while other pedestrians ask why they feel it is necessary.

The footage comes to an end as the second woman is led to a police van while the first continues to bicker with the police.

Dorset Police has been approached for comment.

Elsewhere key workers became some of the first to be vaccinated against coronavirus at a mass vaccine hub in Newcastle as the government ramps up distribution of the jabs in the hope of ending lockdown by spring.

People were pictured being given injections at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle on Saturday – one of seven centres that are due to open to the elderly and vulnerable on Monday.

It comes after Boris Johnson pledged to vaccinate hundreds of thousands people per day by Friday with the aim of giving 13million the jab before Easter, allowing lockdown restrictions to be significantly loosened.

The mass vaccination hubs – located in Newcastle, Manchester, London, Stevenage, Surrey, Bristol and Birmingham – can treat up to four people per minute and will work alongside GP surgeries and other facilities to try and hit the Prime Minister’s ambitious target. 

 

The crackdown comes amid calls from scientists for even stricter restrictions, while No10 pushes an intimidating new ad campaign to try and arrest the spiralling number of coronavirus cases across the country. 

 In a hard-hitting article in the Sunday Times England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty blasted coronavirus rulebreakers for being the ‘link in a chain’ that will allow the deadly virus to infect a and kill the elderly and vulnerable.

‘We must stay home except for work, exercise and necessary activities. Every unneccesary interaction you have could be the link in the chain of transmission which has a vulnerable person at the end,’ he wrote.

The country has two weeks before hospitals are likely to be completely overwhelmed, Prof Whitty added, as the nation is plunged into the ‘most dangerous situation’ in living history.

 While former WHO director Anthony Costello said Britain must go into an ‘Asia-style’ lockdown now with nurseries and places of worship closed, hotels commandeered as isolation centres and masks worn in every public space, experts have warned.

 On Friday, Derbyshire Police faced criticism on Friday for taking the lockdown crackdown too far after officers swooped on two friends for driving just seven miles to go for a walk at a beauty spot.

As a result, the ‘intimidating’ force is reviewing its Covid operations after getting clarification about the rules, with West Mercia Police also mocked for threatening to fine people £200 for playing in the snow.

Nevertheless, the message from government sources yesterday is that police should be focusing more on enforcing rather than explaining rules, now nearly 10 months since the very first restrictions came into effect.

In Lincoln, police fined a man from Chesterfield who it emerged had set a personal goal to try and visit every football ground in the country, despite clear stay-at-home rules.   

The driver was pulled over by officers on Friday, close to the cathedral, after a system check revealed the vehicle was registered to an address outside of Lincolnshire.

But when asked what he was doing, police were left bewildered by his response.

Sgt Mike Templeman wrote on Twitter: ‘The vehicle was stopped as it was registered in Chesterfield.

‘The driver stated he was having a road trip to football grounds around the country having left Chesterfield yesterday.

‘You simply couldn’t make it up. Covid-19 penalty ticket issued along with the strongest words of advice.’

Elsewhere, Norfolk Police revealed a couple had travelled 130 miles from their home in Wellingborough in Northamptonshire to Horsey on Thursday to look at a seal colony.

Local officers carrying out patrols at around 4pm approached the couple in the beach car park after vehicle checks revealed that the car was registered to an address outside of the county.

The man and woman, both aged in their 50s, admitted they had travelled to see the seals and both were issued with a fixed penalty notice, the force said.

In London, officers also handed out fines to a gym owner who broke lockdown rules, as well as the organiser of a party so loud, the music could be heard across the street.

And in Essex, police caught a group driving 15 miles to meet together in a rural area.

Demands for more enforcement were echoed earlier by Wiltshire Police’s chief constable, Kier Pritchard, who wrote in the Gazette and Herald: ‘Although we will continue to police with consent and in a proportionate way, my officers will move to enforcement much quicker when confronted with people clearly breaching the rules.

‘Up until now, police forces have focused on engagement, reinforcing the messaging within our communities and encouraging the public to comply in the first instance, only reverting to enforcement when we are faced with deliberate or repeated breaches.

‘We will continue to engage with our communities but my officers will quickly move to enforcement against those who are flagrantly breaching the rules.’

The shift in approach comes as Boris Johnson last night begged families to stay at home as the Covid-19 death toll hit a grim new record – with the Government launching a new campaign blitz to scare people into obeying lockdown rules.

England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty has appeared in adverts urging us to stay at home as the new variant of the virus rips across the country.

Two terrifying new posters also show a patient dying in hospital and a healthcare worker wearing full PPE, warning Britons: ‘If you go out, you can spread it. People will die.’ 

Earlier on Saturday, Susan Michie, professor of health psychology at University College London, who advises the SAGE committee of experts, said there had been 90% compliance with the national lockdown but that busier streets and public transport were a result of government guidance.

She told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme: ‘One of the explanations for that is this is quite a lax lockdown because we’ve still got a lot of household contact, people go in and out of other people’s houses if they’re a cleaner, a non-essential trade person or a nanny. 

‘We also have mass gatherings in terms of religious events and nurseries being open, and you have this wide definition of critical workers so we have 30-50% of classes full up at the moment and very busy public transport going to and from these things.

‘It’s definitely too lax. If you compare ourselves with March we have the winter season and the virus survives for longer in the cold plus people spend more time indoors and we now know aerosol transmission which happens indoors is a very big source of transmission for this virus.

‘Secondly, we have this new variant which is 50-70% more infectious. You put those two things together alongside the NHS being in crisis, we should have a stricter, rather than a less strict lockdown we had in March.’

However, Prof Michie said to get people to adhere to the rules, a more positive approach needed to be taken rather than stricter enforcement.

‘What we know from this pandemic is what really motivates people is knowing there’s a really serious threat, knowing that what they do can make a difference and also knowing what they do can protect other people and their communities.

‘The behavioural committee of SAGE says consistently what we need is more support and enablement for people to adhere, not punishment. For example one area where there’s really poor adherence, and has been throughout, is having to isolate at home for what is now 10 days.

‘Our own data shows only 30% of people with symptoms are staying at home. The reasons given are they may have caring responsibilities outside the house, they may need to get provisions, or importantly, they have to go out to work to get income.

‘What you need to be effective is have people who people trust and identify with. Yes, experts and scientists are trusted a lot more than politicians but we should also think about people from people’s own communities that are respected, particularly young men who find adherence most challenging, and think about who they identify with and respect, and that’s often sports personalities, singers, people from film and television.

‘We should be much more creative and imaginative about the kind of people who are speaking out.’ 

The owners of a London gym were also fined for breaching Covid-19 rules by remaining open during lockdown.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the fitness centre on Stean Street in Hackney on Friday to reports of a breach of regulations.

Officers found that the north-east London gym was open and three people were inside shortly before 9.30am.

The owners were issued a £1,000 fixed penalty notice, the Met said.

It comes as London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a ‘major incident’ in the capital as the spread of coronavirus threatens to ‘overwhelm’ its hospitals.

City Hall said Covid-19 cases in London had exceeded 1,000 per 100,000, while there are 35% more people in hospital with the virus than in the peak of the pandemic in April.

NHS England figures published on Friday showed the number of Covid patients in London hospitals stands at 7,277, up 32% on the previous week.

Chief Inspector Pete Shaw, from the Met, said: ‘Whilst there are certain rules around people being allowed to exercise in public under this lockdown, nowhere in the legislation does it allow people to go to gyms to work out.

‘Those found to be flouting the rules, as with this instance, should expect necessary enforcement action to be taken against them.

‘We are thankful that the vast majority of people continue to follow the guidance and do their part to reduce the infection rate.’

Elsewhere, Greater Manchester Police has asked people to report non-emergencies online as a number of communications staff are self-isolating.

The force said a number of staff in the Operational Communications Branch (OCB), which receives 101 calls, were having to self-isolate for Covid-19 reasons and staff from the Transport Unit were assisting the department with calls.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey said: ‘All of our staff in OCB have worked extremely hard throughout this pandemic to help keep the communities in Greater Manchester safe and our technology has enabled many to work from home.

‘However, inevitably, some of our officers and staff will be affected by the ongoing pandemic and may need to self-isolate for the safety of themselves, their colleagues and the public and we are supporting them in doing so.

‘We have therefore had to redeploy some of our resources from the Transport Unit to assist colleagues in OCB on a temporary basis.

‘Answering calls from members of the public is vital and moving officers into the department can help us to deliver our normal service. This is why we’re continuing to ask the public to report any non-emergencies online where possible.’  

Last night, the Broseley and Much Wenlock division of West Mercia Police tweeted: ‘There have been two reports of snowballs being thrown last night between 11 and 11.30pm.

‘This is obviously not a justifiable reason to be out of your house, this behaviour is likely to result in a £200 Fixed Penalty Notice for breaking the lockdown rules.’

Meanwhile, Derbyshire Police fined beautician Jessica Allen and her British Airways flight attendant friend Eliza Moore £200 each for driving for a socially distanced stroll at Foremark Reservoir, which despite not being her nearest park is only 10 minutes from her house. 

The decision to fine them will have ‘damaged’ the public’s perception of how the laws are enforced, a former police chief has said. 

Mike Barton told BBC Breakfast yesterday he believed Derbyshire Police would ‘row back’ on its decision to fine the pair who had gone for a walk five miles from their home.

The former Durham Police chief constable said: ‘I think personally Derbyshire will row back from this position, but sadly there will be some damage done here because for the public to comply with the law, they have got to think and see the police are acting fairly. It’s called procedural justice.

‘If police aren’t seen to be acting fairly, the public won’t comply.

‘It’s all very well some people in Whitehall sabre rattling and banging the table that the police are going to enforce these rules, that doesn’t bring about compliance. The public seeing fairness does.’

Mr Barton said it was ‘no wonder’ some police forces were confused about how to enforce the Covid-19 laws, given some of the terminology used by the Government.

He added: ‘What we have got here is police in the past nine months have had hundreds of different rules sent to them.

‘In my day when I was policing we would have one piece of legislation a year, maybe a couple, and then we would have a training programme on how to enforce it. That space hasn’t been given to policing.

‘This is all based on the word ‘local’ and I have never seen that in legislation before.

‘None of those issues have ever been described by the law before, so no wonder there is some confusion out there.’

Current lockdown guidance instructs the public to limit exercise – including running, cycling, swimming and walking – to once per day, and says while people can leave their home, they should not travel outside their local area.

Ms Allen, 27, said she assumed ‘someone had been murdered’ when she saw a police van, a police car and several officers at the entrance of the open space. 

‘It was a short journey and only took about ten minutes,’ she said. I genuinely thought someone had been murdered or a child had gone missing; the place is normally so quiet. 

‘The next thing, my car is surrounded. I got out of my car thinking ”There’s no way they’re coming to speak to us”. Straight away they start questioning us. One of them started reading my rights and I was looking at my friend thinking ”This must be a joke”. 

‘I said we had come in separate cars, even parked two spaces away and even brought our own drinks with us. He said ”You can’t do that as it’s classed as a picnic”.

‘Crossing into a different county seems to have caused the issue but the border into Derbyshire is only a minute away from my house.’  

Ms Moore, who is 27 and alongside her work for BA runs a make-up business, said she was ‘stunned at the time’ so did not challenge police and gave her details so they could send a fixed penalty notice.

‘Just seeing a police officer anyway is quite scary for some people and we were really not expecting to be approached and to be told we were doing something wrong,’ she said.

‘We don’t want to get away with it if we have broken the rule, but it seems a bit unfair that you can be fined on something that’s so vague.’

The pair were also told their cups of Starbucks peppermint tea, which they bought at a drive-thru, were not allowed because they were ‘classed as a picnic’. 

Guidance for the current lockdown says people can travel for exercise ‘as long as it is in their local area’, but does not specify how far people can travel. 

Derbyshire Police insisted the distance was ‘at the discretion’ of individual officers and the trip was ‘not in the spirit of the rules’. 

The force has previously been criticised for its heavy-handed approach to enforcing the restrictions, and in March released drone footage of dog walkers in the Peak District in an attempt to ‘shame’ them. 

And in March, the force dumped black dye into a famous blue lagoon in Harpur Hill near Buxton to prevent Instagrammers from posing for snaps during the lockdown. 

It comes as police forces nationwide upped up their enforcement of Covid regulations.     

In Aberdeen, two policeman knocked on a family’s front door after complaints from a neighbour and stormed inside as a woman shouted ‘this is my house, get out of my house’ and children screamed in the background. 

Two women, aged 18 and 48, and a 43-year-old man were charged in connection with assaulting police officers and threatening and abusive behaviour.

The footage immediately sparked controversy, with critics accusing the police of ‘oppressive’ behaviour for storming into a private house – while others argued they were just trying to enforce the Covid rules.  

At Euston, officers were seen stopping passengers this morning to ask where they were going. Barrister Alex Wright tweeted: ‘Good to see lockdown being taken seriously, but a sad sight that I’d have dreamed of seeing in London.’ 

Snowdonia National Park has now closed all its car parks to visitors to ‘protect our communities and the NHS’, as officials slammed the public for ‘disregarding’ the law. 

In an attempt to clarify the guidance, Leicester City Council’s public health director Professor Ivan Browne yesterday urged residents to visit ‘your nearest park, not your nicest park’, Leicester Live reported.

Ms Patel said it is ‘right’ for officers to confront Britons sat on park benches and argued that police should stop people and demand to know why they are outside their homes.

Speaking after her confrontation with police at the reservoir, Jessica Allen said she is taking the pandemic ‘very seriously’ as her brother is a doctor working on a Covid ward in London, and her parents have both had coronavirus.

She said she drove to the reservoir as she knew it would be less crowded than near her house. ‘I’m self-employed but my business is closed and I’m trying to fill my time,’ she said.

‘I suffer from anxiety and when you go by the water you feel so much better. I live on my own for five days a week and the only thing I’ve got to look forward to is planning a walk with my friend.’

She said brush with the law was ‘very intimidating’ and had left her feeling scared of the police.

‘I was so shook up afterwards,’ she said. ‘The fact they read my rights. I thought ‘Am I going to prison for going on a walk?’

‘I’m not a criminal but we were treated as if we were criminals and it really made me feel for those people who are wrongly arrested and questioned by police, because it wasn’t a nice situation to be in.’

Derbyshire Police said in a statement: ‘Driving to a location – where exercise could easily have been taken closer to a person’s home – is clearly not in the spirit of the national effort to reduce our travel, reduce the possible spread of the disease and reduce the number of deaths.

‘Each officer will use their professional judgement on a case-by-case basis, however, people should expect to be challenged and understand the clear reasons why they may be asked about their movements given the critical situation the NHS currently finds itself in.’

‘It is up to each individual officer on a case-by-case basis to decide what is reasonable as the legislation does not proscribe a distance.’

The College of Policing said: ‘In overall terms police officers across England and Wales will be using their discretion and professional judgement about whether or not someone has a reasonable excuse for travelling for exercise and being outside the place where they are living.’    

Local MP Andrew Bridgen tweeted: ‘I’m concerned that my constituents are facing fines from Derbyshire Police for taking exercise in what I would class as the local area. It is important that common sense is used when enforcing guidelines, and a fine rather than issuing guidance appears to be rather over zealous.’ 

It came as a video taken in Aberdeen at 11.20pm on Wednesday before being shared online showed a police officer standing inside the hallway of a home as a woman was held back by another man.

She said: ‘My house. That is bullying. This is my house. Get out of my house. I did not ask you in here.’

A young boy can be seen in the video as the woman’s daughter said: ‘Just stop it mum’. 

A police spokesman said: ‘We received a complaint from a member of the public regarding a breach of coronavirus regulations at a property in Aberdeen, around 11.20pm on Wednesday, 6 January, 2021. 

‘Officers attended and two women (aged 18 and 48) and a 43-year-old man were charged in connection with assaulting police officers and threatening and abusive behaviour and will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.’  

Just hours after Home Secretary Priti Patel threw her support behind the crackdown, it emerged that officers in Birmingham questioned a couple with pushchair to ask what business they had in town. 

In Ely, Cambridgeshire, disturbing pictures highlighting the harsh reality of lockdown 3.0 showed town-centre seats taped off to stop people using them.

Snowdonia National Park took the decision to close its car parks on Friday after an ‘increase’ in the number of people disregarding Covid rules.  

Officials said people could only take part in exercise that started and finished in their own home. 

Nigel Harrison, Temporary North Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable said: ‘We understand that people want to go outside to enjoy the mountains and snow, however this is a national emergency and we will continue to work with our National Park colleagues to ensure that Welsh Government restrictions around essential travel are adhered to.’

The World Physiques Gym in Mansfield was raided by police on Monday, with one person at the venue fined £1,000 and another £200 for breaching Covid guidelines. 

In Rochester, licencing officers forced the closure of the Hop and Rye pub after finding six people drinking on November 28 last year during the second lockdown.  

It came police spotted two maskless men getting out of a cab in Crewe at 3am on Friday before going into a shop and buying a case of beer. 

When approached by Cheshire Police officers they said they were ‘unaware’ of the lockdown and the way coronavirus is spread.

Under the national lockdown rules face masks must be worn in shops unless medically exempt from doing so.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: ‘Officers had to report two men for breaching the lockdown regulations on Friday.

‘The officers were on patrol in Crewe at 3am when they spotted two men leaving a taxi without a face covering.

‘On leaving the shop, the officers approached the men to engage and explain the lockdown regulations while also reiterating the importance of wearing face coverings.

‘The men said they were not aware that a lockdown was in place and were also unaware of how their actions could result in the transmission of coronavirus to others.

‘The officers told the men they would be receiving a fixed penalty notice (FPN) each for their blatant breaching of the coronavirus rules.’ 

Exercise and essential journeys are the only reasons people are allowed to leave their homes. 

In Crowborough, East Sussex, the local running track was closed yesterday due to the ban on sports venues. 

It came as a policeman was stopped by officers from his own force and asked where he was going during coronavirus lockdown.

Insp Lee Wiggan was on his way to a meeting at his police headquarters on Wednesday when he was asked to justify his movements by a police officer. It comes as cops said they will beef up the approach to lockdown breachers and impose £200 fines for anyone out without a valid reason.

Insp Wiggan – who covers the Ladywood East area of Birmingham – was on his way to the meeting in the city centre at the West Midlands Police Lloyd House HQ.   

It came as a furious pub owner has posted a sign on his parish hall notice board telling villager to ‘f*** off’, after being reported to the police.

Keith Waterhouse, who owns the Badger’s Holt in Bridgetown, Somerset, posted the note on Bridgetown Village Hall after police officers visited him after reports he was breaching Covid-19 rules the previous day.

The note read: ‘Whoever the nasty, vindictive b****** is that reports me to the police for a completely incorrect breach of Covid rules, have the b******* to talk to me first and find out the truth. 

Meanwhile, in London on Friday, one man who was stopped outside Hammersmith Tube station was asked to provide his name and address, which was written down and checked by officers, and the reason for his journey. The man was allowed to enter the station and continue travelling but refused to comment on whether he had been fined. 

One officer told MailOnline: ‘We’re all over the area to enforce Covid laws and make sure that people are out for the right reasons. If you’re not local or don’t have a valid reason to be out, then you will be fined.’

But the police officer revealed that they had not issued a single fine as most people have been adhering to the rules. saying: ‘I think the message is getting through that you should only be out for essential reasons’. 

In Birmingham on Friday, an exchange between two officers and a couple with a pushchair walking through the city centre only ended when the man produced cash from his pocket and told officers they were going to pay in money at a bank.

The pedestrian, who did not want to be named, said: ‘I don’t know why they picked on us. 

‘They just asked why we were in the city centre and when I explained about the bank they left it at that. I think it’s just a matter of control really.’

The same pair of Police Community Support Officers then quizzed two men languishing by a shop doorway and threatened one with a £250 fine if he did not leave.

Isaac, 33 – who only provided his first name – said: ‘I have to come into the city centre to pick up my methadone from Boots pharmacy.

‘During the first lockdown they would give us two weeks worth so as to stop us making so many trips out but this time they are only giving it to last a day so we will have to be back tomorrow.

‘The officers were very fair because my friend is not really allowed in the city centre and could have been given a £250 fine on the spot and not just a warning.’ 

His friend Luke, 34 – who also declined to supply a surname – added: ‘Methadone is not something you want to be picking up in your local area so I come to the city centre.

‘These officers were fair. They told us not to hang around and to make our way home. 

‘Another officer would have taken a much harder approach.’ 

 

 

The race to vaccinate the UK out of lockdown: Everything you need to know as the first ‘super-vax’ centres – capable of inoculating up to 3,000 a day – prepare to open their doors

The UK’s vaccination programme will take a major step forward tomorrow as the first ‘super-vax’ centres, capable of inoculating up to 3,000 people a day, open their doors.

Already 1.5million people have been vaccinated, mostly with the Pfizer jab. Now the mass rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine heralds a blitz of inoculations. 

With more than 1,300 people dying each day, and the pandemic raging across the country, health workers are locked in a race to protect as many vulnerable people from the deadly virus as quickly as possible.

And with a huge acceleration planned this week, tomorrow could mark the start of a fightback that finally suppresses Covid-19 and, eventually, allows our lives to return to normal.

 THE SPRING OFFENSIVE

After the plan to inoculate the 15 million most vulnerable people by February 15, the UK’s vaccination programme will target the remaining groups who are most at risk of dying from the virus.

NHS bosses hope this second cohort of more than 16 million people will receive the jab by Easter. If so, it will mean that between 90 and 99 per cent of those at risk of dying from Covid-19 will have been protected. The rest of the population – those under 50 – will then be vaccinated.

Those in the second cohort who will receive the jab during the Spring Offensive are:

• All people aged 65 and over (3.4 million)

• All individuals aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality

• Everyone aged 60 and over (3.7 million)

• Anybody aged 55 years and over (4.3 million)

• All aged 50 years and over (4.7 million)

HOW THE TARGET WILL BE MET

Boris Johnson has set the hugely ambitious target of offering vaccination to the UK’s 15 million most vulnerable people by February 15 – in 36 days. 

The latest figures, from Thursday, show the NHS had administered 1,468,000 vaccinations over 30 days, or 48,933 daily. 

The PM has vowed that this will rise to more than 200,000 a day by Friday. 

But to hit his 15 million target, the daily rate needs to be almost 347,000. Every day this is missed, the daily requirement goes up.

WHO IS FIRST IN LINE FOR THE JABS? 

Those due to receive the jab in the next five weeks include: Care home residents, frontline NHS and social care workers, those aged 70-plus and those considered to be ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’. 

Of those who have died of Covid-19, 88 per cent are in these groups, All 420,000 elderly social care residents in England and Wales are at the front of the queue and should receive their vaccination by January 31. 

One in four people aged over 80 have received at least one dose.

THE STORY SO FAR 

On December 8, Margaret Keenan, then 90, pictured, became the first person in the world outside clinical trials to be given the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. 

Within a fortnight, an estimated 500,000 people had been given the jab, and the UK has ordered a total of 40 million doses.

Last Monday, Brian Pinker, 82, became the first patient to receive the ‘game-changing’ vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which can be kept in a fridge. The UK has 100 million doses on order.

Another 17 million doses of the newly approved Moderna vaccine are expected in the spring.

The UK has outstripped the EU: Four times as many people have been vaccinated here than in Germany, and 300 times more than in France.

ARMY’S RAPID REACTION FORCE

Britain’s Armed Forces have established a ‘vaccine quick reaction force’ of troops who will rush stocks anywhere they are needed.

It comprises 130 personnel split into 21 small teams. They are tasked with ensuring that vaccination centres across England do not run out of available jabs and will urgently resupply them as the need arises.

They are among 5,000 Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy personnel deployed on Operation Rescript tackling the pandemic.

 A total of 32 military planners are embedded within the Department of Health, NHS and regional health authorities as part of the growing vaccination programme.

In Wales, 90 soldiers have been setting up vaccination centres and another 94 are driving ambulances.

The Ministry of Defence is considering whether another 1,500 personnel could be made available should the crisis continue to escalate.

BORIS: NO ONE MORE THAN 10 MILES FROM A JAB

GP HUBS TO LEAD VACCINATION DRIVE 

 Most vaccinations will be given in GP-led hubs. No10 pledges to have 1,000 open this week across England. 

GPs want all surgeries to be able to give the jab. Patients will also be vaccinated in 223 English hospitals and dozens more in the rest of the UK. 

Uptake is predicted to pass 80 per cent. Boris Johnson wants everyone to be vaccinated within ten miles of home.

…AND YOU CAN EVEN GET IT AT MORRISONS

Up to 50 Morrisons supermarket car parks could host vaccination sites. 

Jabs will be available at stores in Wakefield, West Yorkshire; Yeovil, Somerset; and Winsford, Cheshire, from tomorrow. 

The car parks of another 47 stores have also been made available. In addition, about 200 community pharmacies in England will be offering jabs this week.

MASS VACCINATION CENTRES

1.  ExCel Centre, London
2.  Robertson House, Stevenage
3. Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey 
4.  Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
5.  Millennium Point, Birmingham
6.  Etihad Tennis Centre, Manchester
7.  Centre for Life, Newcastle
8.  Elland Road Stadium, Leeds
9.  Blackburn Cathedral
10.  Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens
11.  Telford International Centre, Telford
12.  Black Country Living Museum, Dudley
13.  Navigation Walk, Wakefield
14.  Jacob’s Well, Bradford
15.  John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield

Red denotes centres that will open this week; black denotes centres likely to open in coming weeks.

Scotland has yet to announce the locations of any mass vaccination sites, while in Wales and Northern Ireland smaller hubs are being set up in leisure centres and other buildings.

THE THREE JABS TO SAVE UK (AND ONE MORE IN THE PIPELINE)

Janssen: Britain has ordered up to 52 million doses of this ‘one-shot’ vaccine, and final trial data is expected within three weeks. The first doses, which can be stored at fridge temperature, could be given soon after.