Police footage shows 'flagrant' breaches of Covid rules as London enters Tier 4

22 December 2020, 11:14 | Updated: 23 December 2020, 11:19

Met Police releases footage of Tier 4 Covid enforcement

Police have released footage of “flagrant” breaches of Covid-19 rules as London entered Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions, warning the rules are not "there to be broken".

The Metropolitan Police body cam footage recorded over the weekend shows officers breaking up parties and attending businesses in the capital where rules were being broken.

One clip shows a stream of young people leaving what appears to be a warehouse party, while another shows a group gathered outside a house party.

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An officer tells a party organiser in another clip: “Because of the size of the party and lack of engagement from people here, you are probably going to end up with up to a £10,000 fine."

“I have never been to takeaway food where they’ve sat me down and handed me a pint”, an officer tells a business owner in separate footage.

Commander Alex Murray, the Met Police’s lead for Covid, said: “Over the weekend just been, as we have been for most of the year, Met officers were out and about responding to flagrant breaches and issuing fines to those who thought they could organise warehouse parties and put many of us at risk of the virus.

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“Most Londoners want to see the enforcement we are taking against those who think the Tier 4 rules don’t apply to them – I hope that this shows just a glimpse of the work we were doing.”

He added: “Anyone who thinks the rules are there to be broken, ignored, or do not apply to them is very mistaken. The rules are that you should stay at home. It is for your safety, the safety of your family and friends, and the safety of your communities.” 

London and the South East was rushed into the new Tier 4 lockdown regime at the weekend after existing Tier 3 measures proved inadequate to control the spread of a new highly infectious Covid-19 variant.