Jessica Allen and Eliza Moore had a bad experience with the Derbyshire police last week. The two women met for a socially distanced walk roughly a five-mile drive away from their home. This resulted in the pair being ‘surrounded’ by police officers, who fined them £200 for leaving their local area and drinking takeaway coffee, which the officers classified as a ‘picnic’.
Since the story broke last week, the police force has backed down significantly and are reviewing their policies as a result of the incident. Allen and Moore were not, it seems, breaking any laws (although No. 10 and other departments remain unsure about how this fits into government guidance). Claims that coffee amounted to a picnic made the debate around Scotch eggs look credible. Under the latest lockdown legislation, meeting up with one other person to exercise is permitted (walking is exercise) and there is no law that prevents one travelling to do so.
The question is whether this will now change; ministers are discussing a tightening of the rules to get infection rates under control.
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