Yesterday afternoon, 27th December, Police were called to Rye Lane in Southward, SE15 after reports of a large demonstration being held in blatant breach of Covid restrictions.
At around 15:17 hours, officers from the Metropolitan Police attended the scene and found around 100 people, some giving speeches with megaphones, while others were dancing.
Scotland Yard said that they believed the event to be pre-planned.
The protest organiser, a 58-year-old man, was issued with a fixed penalty notice and now faces a fine of up to £10,000, after cops broke up the gathering.
The Met Police said that officers engaged with those taking part in the protest to remind them of their responsibility and the requirement to adhere to the regulations.
Acting Inspector David Smith, said: “This sort of gathering is specifically prohibited under the Tier 4 restrictions brought in following the recent rapid rise in cases.
“We all have a responsibility to follow the rules, stay at home as much as possible and help stop the rapid spread of Covid-19 in our city.
“Anyone coordinating intentional breaches on this scale should know they risk very significant financial penalties.”
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
Brilliant, these idiots who think they can break the law.
Covid is a virus and cannot be stopped now. Masks are useless, unless full NBC versions. Anything else lets the virus in round the side. More to the point, fewer and fewer people are paying any attention to the restrictions because they instinctively recognise that the whole thing is a scare story.
The sooner police chiefs re-deploy their forces to crime prevention and detection the better. Failing that, breaking up riots.