ONE LAW FOR ORA
Star fines herself £10,000, but only after her illegal 30th birthday bash is exposed. So why didn’t police act?
POP star Rita Ora has issued a grovelling apology after being exposed ignoring lockdown laws by throwing a birthday bash in a billionaire’s restaurant.
She said she will ‘voluntarily’ pay a £10,000 fine over the party for her 30th, attended by celebrity pals that included models Cara and Poppy Delevingne and reality star Vas J Morgan.
The millionaire singer called it a ‘spur of the moment’ do – even though up to 30 people were said to have been invited to a venue shut for lockdown.
Fans were livid at her ‘contempt’ for medics battling the pandemic and for r those struggling through Britain’s sec- ond lockdown. And they questioned why y police had not taken action.
‘Is this one rule for the famous, rich h and elite, and another rule for everyone else?’ tweeted Alfie Turner. Cathy @mummyhazelwood posted: ‘I challenge Rita Ora to do a shift in the hospital to see exactly why we need all these measures. Totally disrespectful to all those who work in the NHS.’
Police visited ‘intimate and elegant’ Casa Cruz in Notting Hill, west London, just after 9pm on Saturday when neighbours reported up to 30 guests arriving at the posh restaurant in the shadow of Grenfell Tower.
Officers peered through darkened windows and pulled on a locked door
but left without discovering the party. The star dropped no hint about the bash to her 6.7million Twitter fans earlier that day when she posted her reaction to a birthday video from superstars including Mariah Carey, Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell and Michael Caine.
In a flat decorated with birthday balloons she wrote: ‘It felt weird not doing anything for my birthday so being me I dressed up and ate cake.’
Hours later, the Unicef ambassador – worth an estimated £20million – was partying with her pals.
In a statement yesterday, she said: ‘It was a spur-of-the-moment decision made with the misguided view we were coming out of lockdown and this would be OK. I’m deeply sorry for breaking the rules and in turn understand that this puts people at risk.
‘Given the restrictions, I realise how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility.’
She said she was ‘ fully aware of sacrifices people and businesses have made to keep us all safe.
‘Even though this won’t make it right, I want to sincerely apologise.’
But health worker Jason Jeffries-Lloyd told her on Twitter: ‘My wife’s a nurse and I’m a paramedic working our arses off and you do what the hell you want. You’re a disgrace.’
And Jonathan Ingham posted: ‘I turned 30 this year during lockdown too Rita. I spent the day on my own in my apartment, not seeing a soul. Shameful behaviour from you.’ A source close to Rita said there were only around seven guests and she was fining herself £10,000 and giving it to Kensington and Chelsea council. The council said yesterday it had not heard from her.
‘A fine would be for breaching licensing conditions and would be imposed on the licence holder or person responsible for the licensing breach,’ a spokesman said.
‘Whether she chooses to pay them to pay the fine is another thing.’
Argentinian-themed Casa Cruz is owned by billionaire François Perrodo, 43.
A source told MailOnline he had no knowledge of the party.
Yesterday, police were back at the scene. A spokesman said: ‘Officers continue to assess the allegations.’
Rita’s lockdown breach is the highestprofile since No.10 adviser Dominic Cummings claimed he was testing his eyesight driving to Barnard Castle, in Co. Durham, where he had taken his family in March while suffering symptoms.
Our Stay Elite headline highlighted the different mindset of some in power.
Yesterday, Downing Street said: ‘It’s important everybody in society sets an example by following the rules – that is for every member of the public including celebrities.’