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Kate Plummer
Jan 20, 2022
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Fined for COVID-19 Lockdown Parties
Indy
A viral thread shows the fines people were given for breaking Covid restrictions during the height of the pandemic.
The thread, posted by courts journalist Tristan Kirk takes on new significance in light of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak receiving fines for breaking lockdown rules.
One woman was fined £250 for dropping a birthday card round to someone she said she was in a social bubble with (which allowed people living alone to mix with one other household).
She claimed she didn't realise that at the time other people were present in the house.
A woman prosecuted for breaking lockdown rules told a court she had inadvertently attended an illegal gathering. \n"It was not intentional...I didn't realise there would be others present".\n\nShe was convicted and fined \u00a3250\n#PartyGatepic.twitter.com/rmcViBrdM9— Tristan Kirk (@Tristan Kirk) 1642578001
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Meanwhile, a man was prosecuted for breaking hotel quarantine during "an anxiety attack". He claimed he isolated at his mother's house for the remainder of his isolation period.
This man appears to have been struggling when he broke quarantine, and was prosecuted despite apparent efforts to stick to the principles of the isolation rules.pic.twitter.com/NRuNC0QJST— Tristan Kirk (@Tristan Kirk) 1642578034
In another case, a man was fined £1,200 for hosting an event to mark his friend's death:
Some reasons for breaking the Covid rules are sad.\n\nThis Ilford man was threatened with a \u00a310k fine - more than his annual wage - for an event marking a friend's death. It was cut to \u00a31,200 at court.\n\nPolice focused on presence of a hog roast to say the gathering was pre-plannedpic.twitter.com/v7HIM3oGTS— Tristan Kirk (@Tristan Kirk) 1642578004
While a man was fined £100 for meeting friends on his allotment.
A 66-year-old man from Brockley was accosted by police for meeting friends at his allotment to break up the loneliness.\n\nHe ended up with a \u00a3100 fine.pic.twitter.com/oFq8y0R02i— Tristan Kirk (@Tristan Kirk) 1642578023
Defending being fined, Johnson suggested he didn't realise the event in question -a birthday party in 2020 in which he was "ambushed with a cake" was against the very same Covid laws he was involved in making.
He said: "In all frankness, at that time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules."
But some of the fines police handed out suggest that being unclear about the rules has not worked always worked as a defence:
Ignorance of the rules hasn't gone down too well either. \n\nA landlord tried to blame government ministers over the scotch egg 'substantial meal' debacle, but eventually admitted he hadn't read the Covid legislation.\n\nhttps://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/scotch-egg-substantial-meal-Michael-gove-covid19-landlord-b963667.html\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/sBD06UL7dV— Tristan Kirk (@Tristan Kirk) 1642578031
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said:
"Throughout the pandemic the Met has followed the national 4 Es approach of enforcing the Coronavirus Regulations. Where live ongoing breaches of the restrictions were identified, officers engaged with those present, explained the current restrictions, encouraged people to adhere to them, and only as a last resort moved to enforcement.
"In line with the Met’s policy, officers do not normally investigate breaches of Coronavirus Regulations when they are reported long after they are said to have taken place. However, if significant evidence suggesting a breach of the regulations becomes available, officers may review and consider it."
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