Police have today started to stop cars to demand where people are going as they enforce Boris Johnson’s coronavirus lockdown after a shock poll showed millions of Brits are breaking the rules.
North Yorkshire Police said it will now be using unannounced checkpoints to stop vehicles and ask drivers if their journey is essential with Devon doing the same as the Home Office prepares to announce new sweeping powers for officers to allow them to break up groups.
Those powers could include the ‘last resort’ ability to force people to go home if they fail to listen to police pleas or take notice of a £30 fine.
Police patrols have also started to stop train passengers in Swansea to make sure their travel is ‘essential’.
Nicola Sturgeon appeared to pre-empt the Home Office’s announcement as she set out her plans for police in Scotland which will see people who refuse to adhere to the ban on groups ‘made to return home’.
It is not the first time the Scottish First Minister has acted before the UK government on a coronavirus issue after she did the same on banning large gatherings to ease pressure on emergency services.
Members of the public have been urged by Andy Cooke, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, to report large gatherings as the authorities move to enforce the Prime Ministers ‘stay at home’ message.
Mr Cooke said he would ‘expect’ people to report large groups but not to bother officers if it is ‘two or three people stood at the end of the road’.
The apparent need for the new police powers to break up gatherings has been illustrated by reports of officers being called to friends having barbecues and even house parties.
It came as a new poll conducted for ITV’s Peston programme suggested almost six million people across the UK are continuing to go about their daily lives as normal amid fears spring sunshine could tempt even more to flout the rules.
Mr Johnson’s lockdown means people should only leave their home for food, medicine, exercise or to go to work if it is ‘absolutely necessary’. Group gatherings of more than two people have also been banned.
But the survey found seven per cent of Britons are still going out to see friends, eight per cent are doing ‘non-essential shopping’ and five per cent are not washing their hands more than they normally would.
Meanwhile, six per cent of people – approximately three million – are continuing to hug others and shake hands, despite warnings this will increase the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus.
It came as:
- Chancellor Rishi Sunak will finally today unveil a coronavirus bailout for millions of stricken self-employed workers.
- One of the government’s top advisers said the UK’s epidemic will get worse before it gets better but could peak by Easter.
- Dyson has been handed an order of 10,000 ventilators from the Government – as long as the machines pass early tests.
- Retailer Boots begged people not to turn up demanding tests because it has yet to receive any.
- Royal aides tried to trace anyone Prince Charles has met in the last fortnight after he tested positive for the disease.
- The latest coronavirus figures for the UK showed 9,529 positive tests and a death toll of 465.
Police in Devon have started to check whether drivers are on essential journeys or if they are flouting the government’s plea to stay at home
Officers in Plymouth were today pictured directing traffic at an apparent checkpoint to speak to motorists about their plans
Police are today being told how to disperse groups of people. Pictured is a PCSO breaking up a game of football between youths in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside
A survey for ITV’s Peston programme found millions of people are not complying with the government’s lockdown measures
The government expects the ‘overwhelming majority’ of people to stick to the lockdown measures but it is bolstering police powers to ensure officers have the tools they need to enforce the rules amid concerns some people could continue to meet in groups.
North Yorkshire Police said its officers will now be stopping motorists to ask them where they are going, why they are going there, and reminding them of the message to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.
Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker, said: ‘The new and significant restrictions announced by the Prime Minister on Monday evening spell out very clearly what each and every one of us must do to save lives. The message is clear and the warning stark. Stay at home, save lives.
‘These are the lives of the people we know and love. Our partners, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, grandparents.
‘You may never be in such a position again where your simple actions will lead directly to saving lives.’
The force said the checkpoints will be unannounced and could appear anywhere any time with other constabularies expected to now follow suit.
Meanwhile, Avon and Somerset Police has told people they are not allowed to drive anywhere to walk dogs or exercise due to the government’s ban on all but essential travel.
Officers from the force were reportedly handing out leaflets to dog walkers stating that ‘the government restrictions currently in place do not permit you to use your vehicle to travel to this location to exercise’.
The document said government guidance stated people can exercise outside once a day and that ‘you should not be driving to a location away from home to carry this out’.
A Facebook user posted a picture of the leaflet and said: ‘I wasn’t aware that you couldn’t drive somewhere to walk dogs.
‘My husband was given this by police officers at Quarts Moor and told they hoped they wouldn’t see him up there again.’
It came as Mr Cooke, speaking on his first day back at work after contracting the virus himself, said members of the public needed to be ‘sensible’ when it came to reporting gatherings of people.
Asked what people should do if they see a gathering of dozens of people, he told The Times: ‘We would expect people to call us … [but] would urge them to be sensible.
‘When you’ve got two or three people stood at the end of the road we don’t need to be told.
‘The great thing is we police by consent. Staff have been instructed to encourage people, convince people, interact with people. The use of the powers will be very much a last resort.’
Mr Cooke said 12 per cent of his staff were currently off sick or self-isolating – a figure likely to be replicated at other forces across the country, illustrating the resourcing challenge the lockdown could present.
Police broke up a house party in Coventry in the early hours of this morning where a dozen revellers were flouting the ban on social gatherings of more than two people. Eight of them were ‘removed’ and sent home.
That incident followed West Midlands Police neighbourhood officers having to disperse a crowd of 20 people who had gathered for a barbecue in the Foleshill area of the same city earlier this week on Tuesday.
Police have already started to adopt their own methods for dispersing groups with Manchester police reportedly using sirens and a loud hailer while officers in Leicester have been using drones.
West Midlands Police echoed a similar sentiment to Mr Cooke and said people should only ‘advise us if there are large scale breaches with large numbers of people congregating’.
Anthony Stansfeld, the police and crime commissioner in Thames Valley, reportedly said he did not think ‘snitching to the police’ was necessary.
He said it should only take place in the ‘most extreme circumstances’.
Andy Cooke, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, said he would ‘expect’ people to report large groups but not to bother officers if it is ‘two or three people stood at the end of the road’
Joggers go for a run at a park in London today in the morning sunshine as the Prime Minister warned Britons to stay at home
A lady runs through daffodils at Sefton Park in Liverpool after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a UK lockdown
People formed a queue outside a Morrisons supermarket in Canning Town, East London, first thing this morning
It came as the government was believed to be weighing up whether police will be able to use force to make people go home during the lockdown.
More details of the approach officers will be asked to take are expected to be announced today but it is thought they will be told to follow a ‘four point’ plan.
That plan will likely see them initially engage with people who are outside, then explain to them the terms of the lockdown, then encourage them to go home.
Only then would they move onto enforcement action, starting with imposing a fine.
According to The Guardian, the government could allow the police to use reasonable force as a last resort if people do not comply with the fine.
The fine will start at £30 but Downing Street has said it will increase it significantly if it proves to be an inadequate deterrent.
Non-payment of the fine will lead to a court appearance and a criminal record. People will have 14 days to pay.
It is thought children in groups could be taken home to their parents but it is unclear whether they would be fined and whether it would be up to their parents to pay.
Concerns have been expressed about what enforcing the lockdown could mean for the relationship between the police and the public.
Stephen White, acting police and crime commissioner for Durham, said: ‘We don’t want to have a society when you step out the door there is a cop saying: ‘Where are you going?”
Mr White said the application of the new powers was going to be a ‘minefield’ as he asked on what grounds fines would be issued and how the use of the powers would be monitored.
Sunny spring weather which has been forecast for the next few days has sparked warnings that people must comply with the lockdown.
Weather forecasters said Britons can enjoy the sunshine and temperatures over 60F but only for their permitted daily exercise.
Forecasters said temperatures could hit 17C (63F) today. Forecaster Bonnie Diamond told MailOnline that the Met Office is reiterating government advice and urging people to stay indoors.
She said: ‘Spring is in the air and there is plenty of sunshine – in different times we would have enjoyed this more than were able to at the moment.
‘But we are reiterating advice from NHS England and the government – have your exercise once a day safely – it is nice and it is sunny and we can enjoy that exercise, but please practise safe social distancing.’
On the forecast, she said: ‘It’s been a lovely week for England and Wales. Today is generally cloudy across Scotland and Northern Ireland to begin with. But for all of England and Wales, it will be another bright and sunny day with maximum temperatures of 16C or 17C.
‘Tomorrow will be a similar story – some cloud around for Northern Ireland and central and southern Scotland but otherwise bright and sunny with temperatures of 13C or 14C – another bright sunny spring day.
Last night, a shock poll conducted for ITV’s Peston programme found seven per cent of Britons are still going out to see friends, eight per cent are doing ‘non-essential shopping’ and five percent have not started washing their hands more.
The survey also showed six per cent are continuing to hug others and shake hands and some 11 per cent of people are still going to public places.
An estimated 33 per cent are stockpiling and ignoring pleas from supermarkets to save goods for the elderly, vulnerable and NHS workers.
A further eight per cent (5.8 million) are continuing to shop for goods when not absolutely necessary and seven per cent are meeting people outside of the immediate family they are living with, according to the JL Partners survey.