JOHNSON DECISION UNDER FIRE

QUEEN FIT FOR ROLE

BORIS Johnson’s decision to make face masks mandatory in shops descended into more chaos yesterday as police warned the rules are “impossible” to enforce. The Government came under fire for waiting four months into the pandemic to tell people to cover up – and then until July 24 to enforce the measure. And Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “It will be nigh on impossible for enforcement because you won’t have a police officer on every shop door because there isn’t enough of us. “If a shopkeeper calls the police because someone hasn’t got a mask on, they haven’t got the power to detain them so that person can just walk away. “We’ll driving around and around London looking for people who weren’t wearing masks – it’s absolutely absurd.” Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said “more clarity was needed” on how to protect shop workers from customers who refuse to wear masks. Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged shops to “refuse entry” and then call the police if people don’t cover their faces, as he announced the law in the Commons. He added that face masks would “give people more confidence to shop safely and enhance protections for those who work in shops”.

And Environment Secretary George Eustice hinted offices and other workplaces could be next. It has been compulsory to wear a face covering on public transport in England since 15 June – but 10% of Londoners are still refusing to put on one. be

POPULAR figures should be asked to pose in masks to help the public feel more comfortable about wearing them.

Experts say the likes of the Queen, left, and Sir David Attenborough, right, can persuade people to get behind the idea.

Government advisor Professor Robert West said: “I’m surprised how little use has been made of role models.”