Courts may find several Covid laws were broken

THE lockdown laws changed regularly last winter and it was sometimes difficult to keep up.

From November 5 to December 2 we were in a national lockdown. From December 2, the three tiers were introduced.

The “leaving party” was during the national lockdown law. The 18 December

“Christmas party” was while London was in Tier 3, the highest level of restrictions at the time.

There were only two legal ways to have an indoor gathering of more than 30 people. There were “permitted organised gatherings”, but that would mean guests were not allowed to mingle with anyone not in their household. That doesn’t seem to apply here.

The only other route was a gathering “reasonably necessary for work”. It seems doubtful any kind of party, for over 30 people indoors, would fall under that.

CRIMINAL

A court looking at this would probably take into account the fact that official guidance from November 29 said “although there are exemptions for work purposes, you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by rules in your tier”.

This strongly suggests that primarily social work Christmas parties would not be permitted – and a court would not be sympathetic if the party was organised by the politicians who made the rules in the first place.

Anyone who held, or was involved in the holding of an illegal gathering of over 30 people indoors may have committed a criminal offence.

They could be charged or given a £10,000 fixed penalty notice. Those who attended also potentially committed criminal offences or could be given fixed penalty notices of £200.

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