Priti Patel said she wouldn’t hesitate to inform the police if she say somebody flouting coronavirus regulations this Christmas.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast the Home Secretary urged people to stick to the rules and follow the guidance as the rates of infection reach worrying levels going into the festive period.
“If I saw somebody flouting coronavirus regulations and the laws, of course I would look to inform the police about that,” she said, although she added police should only take action against “egregious” Covid breaches.
Charlie Stayt
— kerry Hooper 🥀 (@hewitson10) December 17, 2020
“Would you advise people to call police if they saw 30 People going into house on Christmas Day”
Priti Patel
“People will uses their own judgment, I would phone the police though”#BBCBreakfast #r4today pic.twitter.com/M5yXX5vNPl
Speaking on Sky News shortly after she said the role of police officers over Christmas is to enforce against the serious breaches such as “the raves, the house parties, anything basically that is in breach of the rules that would effectively lead to the spread of the virus.”
The current rules allow three households to form a festive bubble between December 23 and 27 except in Wales, where the law is being changed to restrict it to two.
But Boris Johnson has stressed that is the maximum permitted amount of mixing and has strongly urged people to have a low-key Christmas by scaling-back travel plans and social contact.
Patel plans to visit frontline police officers at Christmas before spending the day with her “very, very tight and small family bubble”.
Related: Fifty years of tax cuts for rich did not trickle down – study concludes
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