What does the Tier 4 law on travelling actually say?

As is perhaps inevitable when advance notice is given of a stable door shutting, the response of many in London last night was to head for the railway stations and get out of town whilst they could.

The reaction to this has been condemnation. The Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the scenes at stations as ‘totally irresponsible’. The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps weighed in, not just with condemnation, but hinting at a police response. He said ‘If you are in Tier 4, the law means you must stay at home and you cannot stay overnight away from home’; ‘Follow the guidance and please do not come to a station unless you are permitted to travel. Extra British Transport Police officers are being deployed to ensure only those who need to take essential journeys can travel safely.’ Peter Hendy, the government’s ‘Christmas travel tsar’ (who knew?) said that ‘additional BTP officers are in place to ensure only essential journeys take place’.