Police now have the powers to serve on the spot fines of £30 if people ignore the government’s new stay at home orders.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Britons on Monday evening that they now have to stay at home in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus, apart from for medical reasons, critical work, shopping and exercise once a day
Fines for breaching the new coronavirus lockdown measures will be set at £30 in England but could rise significantly, Downing Street said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister issued a clear instruction on behalf of the government on the actions the public are required to take to help prevent the spread of the virus, protect the NHS and save lives.
“As with existing laws, the overwhelming majority of the public can be expected to follow the rules without any need for enforcement action.
“We would expect that compliance to begin immediately.”
He continued: “The punishment for non-compliance would be a fixed penalty notice initially set at £30 but we will keep this under review and can increase it significantly if it is necessary to ensure public compliance.”
The news comes after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK surged by 967 to 6,650 on Monday and the national death toll jumped to 336, with 55 new cases confirmed.
Speaking on Sky News Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said to enforce the new measures was going to be a major challenge for the force.
“It will be very, very challenging and very difficult for us with what’s put in front of us,” said Mr Marsh.
“But we don’t actually know what is being put in front of us yet other than we’re going to be asked to disperse crowds, it’s going to be a real, real challenge.”
