CHECKPOINT BRITAIN
Police will arrest anyone flouting lockdown as UK death toll hits 578
PEOPLE breaking Britain’s coronavirus lockdown face arrest under emergency laws announced yesterday.
Ministers acted as the number of UK deaths jumped by more than 100 in a day for the first time to 578.
Police set up checkpoints to crack down on unnecessary travel – with some forces using drones. Home
Secretary Priti Patel revealed the new rules which give forces the power to hit those ignoring the lockdown with £60 fines.
Officers can order people to go home or leave an area, break up groups of more than two and ensure parents are stopping their children flouting the law.
A fixed penalty notice of £60 will double for repeat breaches or be halved to £30 if paid in 14 days.
Magistrates can impose unlimited fines on those who do not pay.
Ms Patel said: “The Prime Minister has been clear on what we need to do: stay at home to protect our NHS and save lives.
“All our frontline services really are the best of us and are doing an incredible job to stop this terrible virus from spreading.
“That’s why I’m giving police these new enforcement powers, to protect the public.”
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his long-awaited aid package for Britain’s five million self-employed workers.
In a bailout worth tens of billions of pounds he pledged to cover 80 per cent of their average profits up to a cut-off of £2,500 a month.
Yesterday Britain recorded its biggest daily rise in Covid-19 deaths – up 116 to 578.
So far, 104,866 have been tested for the virus, with 11,658 positive and 93,208 negative.
Police rolled out daily random checkpoints to quiz drivers as a shock poll showed millions continuing to ignore official advice. Unannounced road blocks were set up after reports of caravanners heading for the seaside.
North Yorkshire Police checked routes to east coast resorts while police in County Durham, Devon and Cornwall, and Somerset and Avon had similar operations.
Stops were also made in Plymouth, and in Cornwall 150 vehicles were checked in Penzance, Hayle, and St Ives.
In Wales, officers quizzed train passengers on their travel plans at Cardiff and Swansea stations while police in Leicester used drones. Derbyshire
Police deployed a drone to collect number plates of people driving to the Peak District to go walking. The force posted online footage it took of vehicles at a Curbar Edge car park, stating: “These cars should not be here”. The force tweeted: “Walking your dog in the Peak District: Not essential.
“Some number plates were coming back to keepers in Sheffield, so we know that people are travelling to visit these areas. “Daily exercise should be taken locally to your home. Under Government guidance all travel is limited to essential travel only.”
But the tactic was criticised by civil liberties group Big Brother Watch who said: “It’s not at all clear what police powers are being used to do this. Arbitrary policing will not help the country to fight this pandemic.”
Officers have been breaking up house parties, barbecues and football games in parks, and telling sunbathers to go home up and down the country.
Avon and Somerset Police have been informed people they are not allowed to drive to locations to walk dogs or exercise.
But people questioned why heading for walks to remote beauty spots was outlawed while
walking in more congested suburban parks was not.
A new poll conducted for ITV’s Peston programme suggested almost six million people across the UK are continuing to go about their daily lives as normal amid fears the sunshine could tempt even more to flout the rules.
The lockdown means people should only leave home for food, medicine, exercise or go to work if it is “absolutely necessary”.
Gatherings of more than two people have also been banned.
But the survey found seven per cent of people are still going out to see friends, eight per cent are doing non-essential shopping and five per cent are not washing their hands more than normal.
Six per cent of people – approximately three million – are continuing to hug and shake hands, despite warnings this is the quickest way to increase the spread of Covid-19.
North Yorkshire Police are stopping motorists to ask them where they are going and why.
Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker said: “The restrictions announced by the Prime Minister on Monday evening spell out very clearly what each and every one of us must do to save lives. The message is clear and the warning stark. Stay at home, save lives.
“These are the lives of the people we know and love. Our partners, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, grandparents.
“You may never be in such a position again where your simple actions will lead to saving lives.”