Police raid wedding with 400 GUESTS held at Jewish girls school

Police raid wedding with 400 GUESTS held at Jewish girls school in north London – as organiser is fined £10,000 with five others given £200 penalties

• The organiser of the Thursday wedding is now facing a £10,000 fine, police said 
• Five other people were handed £200 fines after officers were called at 9.14pm
• It followed reports of a large gathering at school in Egerton Road, Stamford Hill
• The building’s windows had been covered to stop people seeing in, the Met said

The organiser of a wedding attended by around 400 people on Thursday is facing a £10,000 fine, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Five other people were handed £200 fines after police were called at 9.14pm to a large gathering at Yesoday Hatorah Girls Senior School in Stamford Hill, London.

The building’s windows had been covered to stop people seeing inside, the force said.

It comes as people attending illegal house parties will face £800 fines from next week as police tighten their clampdown on coronavirus rule-breaking.

Home Secretary Priti Patel announced the hefty penalty for anyone attending gatherings of 15 or more people as she lashed out at revellers for spreading Covid.

The fines will double for each repeat offence, up to a maximum of £6,400, she said at a Downing Street press conference. Hosts of illegal parties can be fined £10,000.  

Five other people were handed £200 fines after police were called at 9.14pm to reports of a large gathering at Yesoday Hatorah Girls Senior School in Stamford Hill (pictured)

Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett, central east BCU commander, said the party in Stamford Hill was ‘completely unacceptable’.

He said:  ‘This was a completely unacceptable breach of the law, which is very clearly in place to save lives and protect the NHS.

‘An NHS that is under considerable pressure at a time when Covid-19 has killed nearly 100,000 people.

‘This is a deadly and very dangerous disease. We can all see that and we must act responsibly.

‘People across the country are making sacrifices by cancelling or postponing weddings and other celebrations and there is no excuse for this type of behaviour.

‘My officers are working tirelessly with the community and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action if that is required to keep people safe.’

Flanking Ms Patel at the press conference last night, NHS England chief for London Dr Vin Diwakar compared breaking the rules to turning on a light in the Blitz.

‘This is the biggest health emergency to face this country since the Second World War,’ Dr Diwakar said.

‘For me and my colleagues in the NHS breaking the rules in the way that’s been described is like switching on a light in the middle of the blackout in the Blitz. 

‘It doesn’t just put you at risk in your house, it puts your whole street and the whole of your community at risk.’

Home Secretary Priti Patel announced the hefty penalty just for people going to illicit events yesterday evening as she lashed out at people aiding the spread of Covid

As part of the Home Secretary’s new crackdown, adverts have been produced with an image of partygoers covered in yellow tape which warns of the £800 penalty

Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said officers had had to deal with several dangerous parties this week, including one with 150 people in Hertfordshire and another with 40 people in Brick Lane in London’s East End

Ms Patel told the press conference: ‘These fines will apply to those who attend illegal gatherings of more than 15 people in homes.

‘The science is clear: such irresponsible behaviour poses a significant threat to public health. Not only to those in attendance but to our wonderful police officers who attend these events to shut them down.’  

Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said officers had had to deal with several dangerous parties this week, including one with 150 people in Hertfordshire and another with 40 people in Brick Lane in London’s East End. 

He said large gatherings such as house parties are ‘dangerous, irresponsible, and totally unacceptable’.

‘I hope that the likelihood of an increased fine acts as a disincentive for those people who are thinking of attending or organising such events,’ he said.

PM refuses to rule out lockdown lasting to SUMMER 

Boris Johnson yesterday refused to rule out the brutal lockdown lasting until the summer amid claims he is willing to keep curbs longer to ensure it is the last national squeeze.

The PM insisted it is ‘too early to say’ whether the restrictions will stay in place for months longer – despite cases falling by more than a fifth on last week and hopes rising that the most vulnerable groups will be vaccinated by mid-February, with a record 366,919 jabs administered in 24 hours.

Mr Johnson also delivered a stark message that the new coronavirus strain is ‘much more contagious’, repeating his plea for people to stay at home and obey the rules.

The intervention came as scientists delivered a grim warning that even mass vaccinations will not be enough to stop the disease spreading, suggesting that measures will need to remain longer.

There are claims from the PM’s circle that he is ready to risk the wrath of Tory MPs – who are clamouring for confirmation of an easing starting March 8 – by persisting with the curbs. 

‘When we see people that are putting themselves and others in danger, we will not waste time trying to reason with them. They are demonstrating no regard for the safety of others, or even for themselves.’

It comes as the Crown Prosecution Service revealed that assaults on emergency workers were the most common covid-related crimes.

The CPS said it charged 1,688 people for assaults against emergency workers between April 1 and September 30, following the UK’s first national lockdown.

Many of these involved police officers being ‘coughed and spat on’ and others being ‘kicked, bitten and hit with heavy objects’.

Director of public prosecutions Max Hill said the attacks were ‘particularly appalling’ and incidents were still taking place, adding: ‘I will continue to do everything in my power to protect those who so selflessly keep us safe during this crisis.’    

At the Downing Street briefing, Ms Patel said breaches of lockdown rules were ‘costing lives’.

Speaking to a Downing Street press conference, she said: ‘We are clear that the majority of the British public are following the rules.

‘You’ve heard, quite frankly, some pretty shocking examples (of rule breaches) from Martin (Hewitt) – I hear examples like that every single day from police and it is really just very disturbing to hear examples of the grievous breaches.

‘The majority of the British public who are complying with the rules will want that assurance, they want to know that when it comes to policing that those who are breaking the rules are being fined.

‘These grievous breaches are costing lives.’

The UK recorded another 37,892 infections yesterday, but that was down more than a fifth on last Thursday.

There were another 1,290 deaths but that was up just 3.4 per cent on the same day last week, suggesting that the rate might be slowing.

Dr Diwakar said: ‘The situation in our hospitals in the NHS remains really precarious.

‘In London, more than half of all patients in hospital are being treated for coronavirus and sadly over 1,000 patients died in hospital in London just last week, every single one a tragedy.

‘Nationally, there are 34,000 people in hospital and pressure remains intense on our staff.

‘We do have hope now with an increasing amount of people vaccinated but we must remain vigilant.

‘Stay home, follow the guidance and help us to save lives.’

It came as Government officials reportedly launched talks with hotel groups over the possibility of hosting incoming travellers following their arrival in the UK.

Britain’s Covid vaccine postcode lottery: Cumbria has dished out 10 TIMES more jabs than parts of the Midlands

Medics in Cumbria and the North East of England have handed out 10 times more Covid vaccines than those in Shropshire, NHS data revealed yesterday.

The most detailed breakdown of local vaccination rates released so far has laid bare the postcode lottery showing 10 per cent of the population in Gloucestershire have had a jab already, compared to just 3.6 per cent of East Londoners.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire had also managed to immunise one in 10 of their residents by January 17, the figures show.

Coverage appears to be higher in more rural areas and lower in cities, with the lowest vaccination rates in London and the East Midlands.

Rural areas tend to have higher average age of their residents and more elderly people, which may give them access to more vaccine doses to distribute.

It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday said Britain has successfully given more than 5million Covid vaccine doses to 4.6million people.

The programme has sped up after a brief slowdown over the weekend, and is now reaching more than 300,000 people per day as it hurtles towards the target of immunising the country’s 13.9million most vulnerable people by February 15.

Boris Johnson has warned that achieving this target will be ‘very hard’ but it has emerged that, officially, the Government is only aiming to ‘offer’ the jabs to that number of people and it won’t declare failure if they aren’t all delivered on time.

Government sources admit not everyone will take up the invitation, with polls indicating that a fifth of the population might refuse.

The move is said to be part of the Government’s effort to prevent the spread of mutant Covid strains in Britain – with officials fearing the variants could be resistant to the current vaccines.

The UK yesterday recorded its worst daily coronavirus death toll, with 1,820 fatalities. 

Under such a scheme, arrivals could be forced to stay in designated hotels for up to 14 days. Food would be provided by the hotel or ordered in via a local takeaway service.

The Home Secretary said it is ‘far too early’ to speculate on restrictions, when asked whether people should be booking a foreign holiday for this summer.

Asked whether Britain could keep its borders closed to people outside the UK until the autumn, she said: ‘Our focus of course, with regards to borders and travel, people should not be travelling (now) unless of course it is absolutely critical and essential.’

She said the Government’s focus remains on delivering the vaccine.

She added: ‘We have stringent measures (at the border) for a very good reason because we want to protect the health of members of the public and also we want to make sure that we can deliver and safeguard this world-leading vaccine rollout programme.’

‘We stand ready to strengthen our border policy,’ he said. ‘If there is anything further we need to introduce … we will take action.’ 

Similar systems have been used in Australia, which recorded just 204 new Covid cases in the last 14 days, and New Zealand, which recorded just 81 cases in the last fortnight.

If the UK does follow in the footsteps of Australia, it could be the traveller who foots the bill for the hotel stay.

Ms Patel was accompanied by Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS England regional medical director for London. 

It comes as she faces scrutiny over her attitude to the border, after revealing this week that she clashed with Boris Johnson last March, saying the borders should be immediately closed.

The Prime Minister only this month introduced plans to make all arrivals, UK and foreign nationals, prove they had tested negative for coronavirus on arrivial/. 

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday the Home Secretary may have broken the ministerial code by advocating border closures against Government policy.

As a Secretary of State, Ms Patel must abide by the principle that ministers maintain a united front on positions after they have been agreed.

Asked about her comments on strengthening the border, Sir Keir told reporters: ‘That does call into question the ministerial code but it also calls into question the Prime Minister’s judgment.

‘She may have broken the ministerial code but that is secondary. The issue that matters here is has the Prime Minister, has the Cabinet, taken the measures necessary to secure our borders.

‘People are much more interested in that question than whether somebody has broken the ministerial code.’

Tony Blair calls for 600,000 people to be vaccinated EVERY DAY 

Tony Blair has called for 600,000 vaccinations to be carried out each day to enable almost all Covid restrictions to be lifted by mid-May, four months earlier than currently planned.

The former prime minister said an accelerated rollout, as vaccine production is stepped up, could see the country move back to Tier Three restrictions in late February and Tier One as soon as early April. 

Most remaining restrictions could be lifted as soon as around 70 per cent of adults have been vaccinated – mid-May under Mr Blair’s plans.

The accelerated rollout could also save 3,000 extra lives and around £50billion in lost economic activity, says a report by the Tony Blair Institute. 

The intervention comes amid growing concern that Britain’s vaccine roll-out is slowing down and that the pledge to vaccinate the most vulnerable by mid-February is under threat.

The report by the Tony Blair Institute said that with rates of manufacture set to grow rapidly in coming weeks, new modelling shows just how much there is to gain if the UK can be ready for accelerated rollout.

It lays out plans for an accelerated rollout plan which would grow to average 600,000 vaccines per day in March.

The plans include working with manufacturers to speed up production as well as opening more vaccine centres.

In the foreword, Mr Blair said: ‘The UK government is ramping up vaccination, and this is excellent news. There is acceptance that the only constraint should be the supply of vaccines.

It came as Covid cases dropped 15 per cent during the first week of England’s lockdown, according to official figures that offer more evidence that the blanket measure is working.

NHS Test and Trace data yesterday showed 330,871 people tested positive for coronavirus across the country during the week ending January 13. For comparison, the figure stood at 389,191 in the first week of 2021.

It is the first week-on-week fall since the beginning of December, when cases dipped as England emerged from its second national lockdown.

But last week’s fall was not down to fewer tests being carried out — an extra 400,000 swabs were analysed in the most recent seven-day spell and the number of positives still dropped. It is another promising sign that the third lockdown, which began on January 5, is bringing England’s outbreak under control.

Although cases are high with tens of thousands more cases every day, infections have stopped rising at the rate they were in December when the virus was out of control.

But the figures come after a shocking study yesterday suggested England’s third lockdown isn’t working. Imperial College London’s REACT-1 mass-testing project estimated 1.58 per cent of England’s population had coronavirus in the first 10 days of lockdown, sparking fears that the current restrictions aren’t tough enough.

Dismissing the fears that even tighter measures are needed, scientists said the Imperial study does not prove that infections are rising because it missed out a drop from the second wave’s likely peak in December.

Researchers behind the study, which could be used to pile more pressure on Boris Johnson, hoped further testing in January would show infection numbers come down as the effects of lockdown properly set in.

Other studies tracking the Covid outbreak suggest more optimistic trends. Even Department of Health statistics show daily infections have plunged since the start of the lockdown, from an average of almost 60,000 to closer to 40,000.

Cambridge University estimates show that the R rate of the virus is likely below one, while Public Health England last week claimed cases dropped in all age groups. King’s College researchers also say cases have fallen ‘steadily’ since the New Year.

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