London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

The policing of lockdown is failing

The policing of lockdown is failing

The scenes in Clapham Common have brutally exposed the problem with lockdown rules. People had gathered to mourn Sarah Everard and protest in defence of the right to walk the streets safely.

The Metropolitan Police had been asked by the government to stop people going outside for anything other than a handful of allowed reasons: protest is not one of them. Given how many anti-lockdown protesters were arrested at Clapham Common earlier this year, the Met decided it could not be seen to pick and choose causes. Protesters were told it was 'unsafe' for them to be there due to Covid-19. Officers swooped. Chaos ensured.

Footage from the protests showed a row of women being dragged away from the bandstand on the common, which has been filled with flowers for Ms Everard. One sign read: “We aren’t safe in our homes, how can we reclaim the streets?” Members of the crowd could be heard shouting ‘shame on you’ and ‘you are scum’ at the police after the clash while one woman screamed ‘you’re supposed to protect us’. At a time when the state has been handed so much power, it must be used lightly and proportionately. The Met’s actions in Clapham clearly fail that test.



It was "a really invidious position for my officers to find themselves in" said Cressida Dick, the Met Commissioner, afterwards, coming as she dared to pointing out fundamental problem. Police have been asked to enforce a policy that is no longer morally defensible: the criminalisation of peaceful protest. When the virus was surging, it was reasonable to suspend many fundamental rights – including freedom of assembly. The freedom to visit one's neighbours, go to work, enjoy the company of friends and family. But it is harder to make the case for this removal of these basic civil liberties when virus levels are, by some estimates, lower than at any point in the summer.

Hospital admissions have fallen 80 per cent from the second wave’s peak. Deaths are down 85 per cent and cases down 90 per cent. The vaccination campaign continues to be a triumph, with almost everyone in the at-risk groups covered. Britain now has one of the lowest Covid rates in Europe. In London, the decline of Covid has been even more dramatic.

Yet we still have one of the most stringent lockdowns in the developed world. In England, parks are full of people who are breaking the law to go for a walk with family and friends. Millions now live in Covid not-spots where the virus has all but vanished (Clapham Old Town is one of them). With excellent data gathered and published by the government, people can easily find out what the risk is in their area and judge their behaviour accordingly — which means that soon, the police are going to find themselves in an impossible position.

Last weekend, six men in their twenties were fined £200 for meeting up around a campfire in Marlborough. It’s hard to think that the officers involved will have taken any pleasure in this criminalisation of perfectly civil behaviour. Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said last week that the rules are no longer ‘manageable’, adding: ‘Police don’t want to police this. We’ve had enough of this.’

Mark Woolhouse of the University of Edinburgh recently told MPs that there was not a single case in the world of a Covid outbreak linked to a crowded beach. Surely it must be possible by now to work out the relative risks of various activities, by studying what people were doing in the days leading to their developing the disease. Perhaps Matt Hancock’s Covid phone app could help. Yet instead we are still bound by the kind of blanket rules which were imposed in panic at the start of the first lockdown.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the Chief Scientific Adviser, has told MPs that outdoor protests pose no big risk. "Outdoors, the risk of transmission is low," he said last June. "We see that from some of the demonstrations that have taken place over the last couple of months. So far, we have not seen an uptick in cases." Those gathered in Clapham were told to disperse because "we're in the middle of a pandemic," but they would have had cause to question whether the medical evidence really is strong enough to justify suspending their basic right of protest.

Johnson may feel tied to his rules, having said that he'd relax lockdown ‘no earlier than’ 21 June. That is three months away, and patience is already starting to snap. The public has shown remarkable adherence to the restrictions through the worst periods of this crisis, but to deny people social contact for months on end is asking too much.

The Prime Minister has a clear option open to him: decriminalise minor breaches of the rules (including peaceful protests). This would give the police to concentrate on the major breaches, such as indoor parties or potentially super-spreading events. It would allow them to use discretion to allow protests. And it would encourage people to use their own judgment as to what is and is not safe.

In a democracy, police cannot ultimately enforce laws for which there is no public consent. To do so risks damaging the public co-operation on which the police depend. Say a mother is recovering from a serious illness in lockdown and her friends club together to help her with childcare: all involved would be breaking the law. Three friends taking a walk together could be stopped by police.

This is clearly nonsensical. And the public know it. They are also aware that lockdown rules have affected people in very different ways. If you live in a large house with a large garden, and you have a professional career, with secure pay and pension, lockdown has not been a great hardship. It is a very different matter if you are poor and live alone in a small flat in a densely packed and highly policed urban area.

Lord Sumption, the former Supreme Court Justice, put it well: some laws, he said, invite breach. But why, then, give Covid rules the status of laws? It demeans the law, and is unfair to the police. Far better to offer government guidance, ask the public to be careful — and use their judgment.

‘Levelling up’ was supposed to be a signature policy of this government. Perhaps it could begin by ceasing to persecute people who, after a long year of economic and social hardship, have with good reason come to the conclusion that it is safe to exercise their right to protest, where appropriate and, in general, resume a small part of their former lives.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×