The Home Secretary revealed the shocking statistic at a No10 coronavirus briefing this evening as she warned the police would crack down on Brits breaking lockdown. With Covid cases soaring across the UK, the Government is warning the public they must obey by the current measures or face tougher restrictions in the weeks ahead.
Ms Patel was joined by Martin Hewitt, Chair of National Police Chiefs' Council who said while the majority were doing their bit, a small minority were continuing to ignore the regulations.
"A stubborn number of people have refused to abide by the regulations and we have had to use enforcement powers," he said.
"At this critical time we will have more officers out on dedicated patrols, to take action against the small few who are letting us all down."
Mr Hewitt said he will "make no apology" for taking tough action on rule-breakers as he listed a number of occasions when police officers had been forced to intervene.
He said: "It's so disappointing to see some of the irresponsible behaviour we are having to deal with.
"Let me give a few recent examples: a boat party in Hertfordshire, with more than 40 people who paid £30 each for a ticket, a minibus full of people from different households travelling from Cheltenham into Wales to go for a walk, and in Surrey we issued a £10,000 fine for a party who was trying to claim that it was a business event."
He added action was also being taken to stop rule-breaking gatherings from taking place.
The police chief said a 19-year-old man was arrested in Bristol at the weekend after advertising an illegal rave on social media.
Fines were also issued to 38 individuals who turned up to participate in the event.
"We will not waste time trying to reason with people like this, who have no regard for the safety of others." he said.
This morning Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said officers in London had issued more than 300 notices in the space of 24 hours for "flagrant" violations of the regulations.
Ms Patel said in a direct message to the nation: "My message today to anyone refusing to do the right thing is simple.
"If you don't play your part, our selfless police officers, who are out there risking their won lives every day to keep us safe, will enforce the regulations.
"I will back them to do so, to protect our NHS and to save lives."
The Conservative Minister said "far too often" police officers were risking their health and lives by "coming into close contact with people, including those who deny the very existence of coronavirus, to keep us all safe".
Praising those following the rules, she added: "I want to say thank you to the millions of people who are putting our country's collective health first."
More to follow...
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMigAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5leHByZXNzLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvcG9saXRpY3MvMTM4MzEwNi9Qcml0aS1QYXRlbC1Db3ZpZC1maW5lcy1sb2NrZG93bi1ydWxlcy1hbm5vdW5jZW1lbnQtbGF0ZXN0LWRvd25pbmctc3RyZWV0LXVwZGF0ZdIBhAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5leHByZXNzLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvcG9saXRpY3MvMTM4MzEwNi9Qcml0aS1QYXRlbC1Db3ZpZC1maW5lcy1sb2NrZG93bi1ydWxlcy1hbm5vdW5jZW1lbnQtbGF0ZXN0LWRvd25pbmctc3RyZWV0LXVwZGF0ZS9hbXA?oc=5
2021-01-12 17:17:00Z
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