It has been confirmed that Home Secretary Priti Patel is to lead a Downing Street press conference at 5pm this evening.
The Home Secretary is expected to address calls for clarity on what “local” means for exercise.
The conference comes today amid reports that an increasing number of government ministers want to toughen penalties for COVID rule breakers, as there are fears that people are not sticking to the restrictions as much as during the first lockdown.
This does however also come in light of the government being criticised over ambiguity in the guidance.
Throughout the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, police have been pursuing a “four Es” strategy – by engaging, explaining, encouraging and then, as a last step, enforcing lockdown measures – but the conversation was taken further earlier today when Dame Cressida Dick – Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police – said her officers are still having to break up several gatherings, despite recent warnings that hospitals in London and elsewhere in the UK are struggling to cope with rising patient numbers.
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She said that lockdown rule breakers are soon more likely to be fined, as COVID laws will be enforced “more quickly”, while also too calling for clearer definition on the rules and adding that: “Anything that brings greater clarity for officers and the public in general will be a good thing”.
The new variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly, putting people at risk of serious disease and huge pressure on our NHS.
The conference also comes amid mounting anger after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was seen taking a seven mile bike ride.
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Kit Malthouse – Minister of State for Crime and Policing – was also accused of causing further confusion over the rules during a number of televised media appearances this morning, where he said people should stay close to home, but then appeared to convey that a seven mile bike ride was allowed.
And he also repeated Dame Cressida’s pledge of a crackdown, telling BBC Breakfast that: “We are urging the small minority of people who aren’t taking this seriously to do so now, and [are illustrating] to them that if they don’t they are much more likely to get fined by the police”.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Stockport bar Bask issues statement after ejected customer arrested on suspicion of attempted murder
Daisy Jackson
A popular bar in Stockport has issued a statement following an incident at the weekend, which culminated in a man being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and assault of an emergency worker.
Police were called to Bask on Railway Road at around 1.03am on Sunday 23 February.
The bar has said in a statement that a male customer had been asked to leave after ‘throwing an object’ at a female member of staff.
The man refused to leave ‘and turned violent’, with security staff having to forcibly remove him.
He then returned to the street outside Bask, where he assaulted members of the bar’s security team, who reportedly sustained injuries.
He was restrained until police arrived and arrested him.
Greater Manchester Police have said in a statement that a man was taken to hospital with a serious, but thankfully not life-threatening, injury.
A spokesperson for GMP said: “Officers were called to reports of an assault outside a nightclub on Railway Road in Stockport at 1:03am on Sunday 23 February 2025.
“A man was taken to hospital with a serious injury, which is not life-threatening.
“A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and assault of an emergency worker. He remains in police custody.”
Bask’s statement said: “Following some inaccurate social media posts, we would like to put out the following statement..
“Last night, a male customer was asked to leave following an incident where an object was thrown at a female member of staff. The security team asked the male to leave the premises, he refused to leave the premises and turned violent, leaving the security staff no option but to forcibly remove the male to protect the public.
“A short time later, the male returned and assaulted multiple members of the security team outside of the venue. The rest of the security team intervened to help protect members of the public, sustaining injuries in the process and restrained the male until the police arrived and was subsequently arrested.”
Four Just Stop Oil protesters found guilty of conspiracy to cause disruption at Manchester Airport
Emily Sergeant
Four Just Stop Oil protesters have been found guilty of conspiracy to intentionally cause public nuisance at Manchester Airport.
Indigo Rumbelow, Leanorah Ward, Margaret Reid, and Daniel Knorr each appeared at Manchester Minshull Crown Court last Friday (21 February) where they were found guilty after being arrested by officers from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Specialist Operations Branch and Serious Crime Division during the early hours of the morning last August.
The four defendants were detained while walking along South Park Road in Gatley, as they were making their way to Manchester Airport.
According to GMP, they were equipped with heavy duty bolt cutters, angle grinders, glue, sand, Just Stop Oil high visibility vests, and a leaflet containing instructions to follow when interacting with police.
One of the defendants, Leanorah Ward, was also found in possession of a handwritten detailing the motive of the group – which was to enter the airfield of Manchester Airport, before contacting the police to alert them of their activity.
Four Just Stop Oil protestors have been found guilty of conspiracy to intentionally cause a public nuisance following GMP investigation.
In August 2024, we detained 4 people close to Manchester Airport who were equipped with heavy duty bolt cutters, angle grinders, glue & sand. pic.twitter.com/AE6vDedtnZ
They were planning to stick themselves to the airfield taxiway using the glue and sand, with one main goal – to disrupt airport activity and gain media attention.
GMP says the arrests managed to ‘prevent large-scale disruption’ at Manchester Airport, amid a summer of chaos threatened by Just Stop Oil, a result of extensive work and national coordination.
“This was a planned and targeted attack against one of the country’s busiest airports which could have caused significant disruption,” explained Natalie Mackenzie, who is the District Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West.
“Their plan displayed a clear disregard for members of the public using the airport at the height of summer.
The Manc -
12th January 2021 
