Officers break up Good Friday church service
POLICE ordered worshippers out of a service and threatened them with £200 fines for breaching Covid restrictions.
Officers shut down the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at Christ the King Polish church in Balham, south London.
Footage showed the interruption at 6pm on Friday, with an officer announcing that the gathering was “unlawful under coronavirus regulations”.
He added: “You are not allowed to meet inside with this many people. You need to go home. Failure to comply and go to your home address could lead you to be fined £200 or, if you fail to give your details, to you being arrested.”
Christ the King condemned the Metropolitan Police operation, accusing officers of having “brutally exceeded their powers by issuing their warrant for no good reason”.
It added: “We regret that the rights of the faithful have been wronged on such an important day for every believer and that our worship has been profaned.”
The church said Lent, Holy Week and Easter services are allowed, provided Covid measures are in place. Government guidance states that churches can open, but that worshippers should maintain distancing from anyone not in their household or support bubble.
Scotland Yard said officers had been called to a report of “crowds of people queuing outside a church in Balham High Road” and that “officers engaged with the priest outside the church”.
The Met said: “Officers found a large number of people inside the church. Some were not wearing masks and those present were clearly not socially distanced. Officers made the decision that it was not safe.”