Priti party crackdown
Fines for ‘irresponsible’ revellers quadruple to £800 to help police tackle illegal events
COVIDIOTS who attend house parties face £800 instant fines from next week.
Gatherings of 15 or more – half the number set out under coronavirus regulations – will lead to penalties for everyone on the premises.
The £10,000 fine for organisers of an illegal event will still apply when 30 or more are present.
Attending an illegal gathering had attracted a £200 individual penalty. The new £800 fine will double each time for repeat offenders up to a maximum of £6,400, Priti Patel said last night.
‘We will not stand by while a small number of individuals put others at risk,’ said the home Secretary. ‘These egregious breaches are costing lives.
‘If you don’t follow these rules, then the police will enforce them.
‘Police officers are now moving more quickly to hand out fines when they encounter breaches, and they have my absolute backing in doing so. Such irresponsible behaviour poses a significant threat to public health, not only to those in attendance but also to our wonderful police officers who attend these events to shut them down.’
The new rules, which come in next week, are designed to combat the worst breaches. It remains against lockdown rules to meet even one other person indoors, unless in a support bubble.
Dr Vin Diwakar of NhS england told the Downing Street press conference: ‘This is the biggest health emergency to face this country since the Second World War. For me and my colleagues in the NhS breaking the rules in the way that’s been described today is like switching on a light in the middle of the blackout in the Blitz.
‘It doesn’t just put you at risk in your house, it puts your whole street and the whole of your community at risk.’
Martin hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said examples of rule-breaking included a gathering of 40 revellers in east London who were ‘hostile to the police’. Three officers were injured when they tried to break up the event.
In hertfordshire, officers stopped a house party – equipped with mixing desks and amplifiers – with over 150 guests. Again an officer was injured, said Mr hewitt. And in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, officers told the organiser of an event with a dance floor and speakers not to go ahead, but later found 50 revellers on site. The chief culprit was fined £10,000.
‘We have repeatedly made it clear that house parties and other large gatherings shouldn’t be happening,’ Mr hewitt said at a Downing Street press briefing. ‘They’re dangerous, irresponsible and totally unacceptable.
‘I hope the likelihood of an increased fine acts as a disincentive for those people who are thinking of attending or organising such events.
‘When we see people putting others and themselves in danger we will not waste time trying to reason with them. They’re demonstrating no regard for the safety of others.’
From August, when the £10,000 fines were first introduced, to January 17, 250 fixed penalty notices were issued by forces in england.
‘I make no apology for those fines, which have been given in the most serious cases where those organising those gatherings are selfishly putting lives at risk,’ said Mr hewitt. It is understood that police complained they had no effective way of tackling parties below the 30-person limit.