Scotland Yard chief urges Londoners to call police if neighbours persistently break Covid lockdown rules

A police car patrols as people take permitted exercise, during current lockdown restrictions, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Richmond Park, London, Britain
A police car patrols as people take permitted exercise, 
REUTERS
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Scotland Yard chief Dame Cressida Dick has urged Londoners to report their neighbours if they are persistently breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules.

The comments came after the Met issued more than 140 fixed penalty notices, totalling £39,000, this weekend in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, while 14 seafood hauliers protesting over the Brexit fishing deal in Whitehall were fined on Monday.

On Saturday 49 people fined after officers shut down an illegal car meet in Romford.

Officers found the group speeding around a roundabout in the Ferry Lane area and mixing with other drivers without any social distancing.

Dame Cressida Dick told LBC radio: “The last thing I’m going to say on national radio is everyone should be shopping everybody. I don’t think that.

“What I do think is, if you do have concerns that somebody is persistently not complying with the restrictions, with the regulations, then, yeah, you should talk to us.

“If you feel comfortable to do so, then talk to us.”

Dame Cressida said the force is receiving “hundreds of calls a day” from concerned people, with fines handed out to those who are “completely reckless”, having house parties or keeping a restaurant, pub or cafe open.

The comments came days after she called on ministers to think about writing a maximum distance for daily exercise into law.

She had told the Today show on BBC Radio 4  that “clarity” was needed over the definition of local exercise in England and restrictions on travel for exercise similar to those imposed in Scotland and Wales should also be considered.

Dame Cressida said that people are still holding house parties, meeting in basements to gamble and attending unlicensed raves in the teeth of the pandemic’s most deadly phase.

She also said shewas “baffled” why police officers are not closer to the front of the queue for Covid-19 vaccines.

Latest figures show about 1,700 Metropolitan Police staff are off sick or self-isolating.  

“In many other countries, police officers and law enforcement colleagues are being prioritised and I want my officers to get the vaccination,” Dame Cressida said.

She revealed that there have been 97 incidents where a suspect has mentioned or threatened coronavirus before coughing at an officer, with 48 spitting attacks. 

Some 126 people have been charged with nearly two-thirds receiving a custodial sentence. She said three colleagues, none of whom were police officers, have died after contracting the virus, including a police community support officer last week.

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