Update on investigation into alleged breaches of Covid regulations in 2020

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

The Met has now concluded one of its investigations into a number of potential breaches of the Covid regulations opened in July 2023.

The first was a re-opening of the investigation concerning an event in Matthew Parker Street on 14 December 2020 following new evidence being made available to officers.

Having assessed that new evidence the Met has made 24 referrals for fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to the ACRO Criminal Records Office for breaches of Covid-19 regulations.

The second investigation related to a gathering in Parliament at an event on 8 December 2020 continues.

Our position has always been that we would not routinely investigate breaches of the Covid regulations retrospectively, and only do so where there is evidence of a serious and flagrant breach and where:

  • There was evidence that those involved knew or ought to have known that what they were doing was an offence;
  • Where not investigating would significantly undermine the legitimacy of the law and;
  • Where there was little ambiguity around the absence of any reasonable defence.

We will not be releasing or confirming the identity of anyone involved in these investigations or providing further details of our findings, in line with the approach we took throughout the pandemic.