Huge crowds slammed as ‘selfish’ and ‘dangerous’ as central London is overrun with pub-goers

Thousands of people flocked to central London to celebrate pubs and bars being allowed to reopen after more than three months of strict lockdown.

It came about after the R rate rose to over one on Friday – meaning the number of Covid-19 cases is on a steady rise, as each individual is likely infecting more than one other person – just hours before the lockdown restrictions eased.

As of 6am on Saturday, these establishments around England were allowed to open up… and the crowds couldn’t keep away, if the scenes on social media are anything to go by.

One tweet described central London as “heaving with bodies & puke” with “queues in Soho”:

While another watched in horror at the scenes in a news report that featured Soho “packed like Christmas”:

Countless videos and photos show people on London’s Old Compton Street not wearing masks and not keeping at least one meter apart.

People had a lot of thoughts on the crowds, with some placing the blame on the government and its mixed messaging:

Boris Johnson is yet to publicly comment on the huge crowds in Soho on Saturday night but warned yesterday:

The Prime Minister came under fire for lighting a candle for coronavirus victims, just one day after saying he doesn't "believe in gestures" when asked if he would take the knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters.

At the time of writing, 44,198 people have died as a result of coronavirus across the UK, but ONS figures push this number closer to 54,000 people.