10 2GM Tuesday September 15 2020 | the times
News
Top advisers
clashed over
early curbs
Chris Smyth
The government’s chief scientific
adviser said that he was rebuked by its
chief medical adviser for pressing for an
early lockdown.
Sir Patrick Vallance wrote in an email
that he was given a “telling off” by Chris
Whitty after calling for tougher meas-
ures in February and March. The emailis the first suggestion of a split between
Sir Patrick and Professor Whitty, who
is also the chief medical officer for
England. In the email, obtained by the
BBC under freedom of information law,
Sir Patrick wrote: “I argued stronger
than anyone for action for lockdown.”
Sage, the government advisory
group chaired by Sir Patrick, initially
said that trying to suppress the epi-
demic would lead to a second peak. On
March 16 it changed its advice after
realising that infection numbers had
been underestimated. That day Boris
Johnson urged people to stay at home.
He brought in a lockdown a week later.
A spokesman for the prime minister
said: “We were very clear at the time
that the steps we were taking were guid-
ed by scientific and medical advice.”A minister has urged people to report
their neighbours to the police if they see
them violating the government’s new
“rule of six” coronavirus restriction.
Any social gathering of more than six
is against the law and people could be
fined up to £3,200 if they do not abide
by the measure, which applies inside
and out and came into force yesterday.
In England the restrictions apply to
children, effectively banning families of
five from seeing both grandparents at
once. Under-12s are excluded from the
rules in Scotland; under-11s in Wales.
Yesterday Kit Malthouse, the polic-
ing minister, said that concerned neigh-
bours should report violations to the
police’s non-emergency number, 101.
He said that the government was look-
ing at other routes because of concerns
about the volume of work for the police.
“We are in discussions about what
reporting mechanisms there might be,
but there is obviously the non-emer-
gency number that people can ring and
report issues they wish to,” he told
Toda y on BBC Radio 4.
Pressed on whether that would in-
volve reporting a gathering of seven or
more in a neighbour’s garden, Mr Malt-
house said: “It is open to neighbours to
do exactly that through the non-emer-
gency number and if they are con-
cerned and they do see that kind of
thing, then absolutely they should
think about it.”
Mr Malthouse, 53, told Times Radio
that he had called off one of his child-
ren’s birthday parties to avoid breaking
the rules. “You are speaking to a dad
who had to cancel his own kid’s
birthday party next weekend,” he said.
“You cannot meet socially in groups of
more than six in England and that in-
cludes children. While I understand
that people will say, ‘They are mixing in
school anyway’, this is not about
eliminating contact, it’s about limiting
contact.” Martin Hewitt, chairman of
the National Police Chiefs’ Council,
denied that enforcement of the rule of
six relied on people “grassing up” their
neighbours. “I think what it relies on is
all of us being responsible,” he told BBC
Breakfast. “We all have a responsibility
to do what we can do, to take the steps
that are required to stop the transmis-
sion and to abide by regulations so we
can prevent this disease moving further
through the country.”
Regulations enabling the enforce-
ment of the rule were published late on
Sunday night, about 30 minutes before
they came into effect.
Mr Hewitt accepted the rule changes
were “confusing for the public”, adding:
“This has been really challenging for
policing over six months. We had the
initial universal lockdown, we’ve had
changes since then, the public need to
understand those changes. We work
with our partners in local authorities,
people who are running shops, people
who are running other hospitality
areas, we are part of the group that are
trying to explain to members of the
public what the rules are and encourag-
ing people to comply with them.”
The measures follow a sharp rise incases of Covid-19, with more than 3,
cases recorded for the third day in a row
on Sunday. This was the first time since
May that cases were above 3,000 on
three consecutive days.
The rule applies across England and
replaces the existing ban on participat-
ing in gatherings of more than 30 and
the guidance that allowed two
households to meet indoors. Apart
from exemptions including work and
education, the police will be able to
disperse gatherings of more than six
people and issue fines ranging from
£100 to £3,200.
Matt Twist, deputy assistant com-
missioner, who leads the Metropolitan
Police’s response to the virus, said that
officers would be deployed in every
borough to patrol public spaces and re-
spond swiftly to large gatherings.
“Where people just won’t listen, and are
putting everyone at risk, we absolutely
will take enforcement action,” he said.
The prime minister’s spokesman said
yesterday that officers would be
“encouraging people to follow the
rules”. He added: “If in the coming days
people do continue to flout them then
you would expect police to issue fines.”Call police if your neighbours
Restrictions No restrictions;
“maintain distancing”; public
events limited to 5,000.
Marseilles and Bordeaux
hotspots recommended
ten-person limit to
social gatheringsCases 52,
Death rate 0.
France
Restrictions Limit of ten
outdoors, including children;
some regions have same limit
indoorsCases 43,
Death rate 0.
Spain
10
Restrictions Limit of ten
outdoors in Lisbon; extending
nationwide from September 15Cases 3,
Death rate 0.
10
Portugal
Restrictions No more than six
indoors, from the same extended
household group, children not
included. Up to 30 outdoors*Cases 945
Death rate 0.
6
Wales
Restrictions No more than six,
indoors and outdoors, all ages.
Single households/support bubble
larger than six still able to gather*Cases 18,
Death rate 0.
6
England
Restrictions No more than six
from two households indoors and
outdoors for social gatherings,
children not included*Cases 1,
Death rate 0.
6
Scotland
Restrictions No more than six
from two households indoors for
social gatherings, children not
included. Up to 15 outsideCases (7 days to Sep 12) 606
Death rate (per 100,000) 0.
6
N Ireland
Gathering
storm
,
Marseilles and Bordeaux xxxx
hotspots recommendeddddd
tenten-peprson limit rso tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
social gatheringsheringsCases 52 , 220
Death rate 0. 3
Cases per 100,
Sources: WHO; Public Health England80
32
30
All figures: 7 days to September 12
News Coronavirus
Oliver Wright Policy Editor
A group at the Meadows in Edinburgh yesterday. Gatherings have been limited to
six people, although in Scotland the regulation does not include children under 12EUAN CHERRYGrouse shooting is in but a kickabout in
the park and birthday parties are out.
Full exemptions to the rule of six
have been published, prompting com-
plaints about ministers’ desire to ensure
hunting and shooting can continue.
“Mingling” has also been banned
under the same regulations that pro-
vide exemptions allowing more than
six people to be in the same place for
purposes such as work and childcare.
The regulations making groups
larger than six illegal in England were
published shortly before midnight —
when they were due to come into effect
— on Sunday. Ministers promised last
week to detail exemptions to the rule
but the list was said to have been held up
by an internal debate over blood sports.
The government’s Covid-19 opera-
tions committee was due to meet on
Saturday to discuss an item titled “ex-
emption: hunting and shooting”, Huff-
post UK reported, but it was cancelled.
Full guidance confirms that shooting
is among sports and outdoor activities
that will be exempt from the rule of six.
To qualify sports “need to be organised
by a club, business or charity; and/or in-
volve someone who has received an of-
ficial licence to use equipment relevant
to the activity”, with guidance warning
that people organising informal games
with friends face fines of up to £3,200.
“When playing sports informally
with people you don’t live with, you
must limit the size of your group to six.
It is illegal to do so in a larger group and
you may be fined,” guidance says.
Support groups for victims of crime and
new parents are also exempt, as are pol-
itical protests and work events. How-
ever, people must not go to such events
in groups larger than six and regula-
tions say that people must not “mingle”
with participants beyond their group.
Venues including places of worship,
restaurants, shops and gyms can simi-
larly have more than six people on theGrouse shooting in, park kickabouts out
Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor premises as long as groups are kept to
separate parties of six and under.
Guidance also warns that “activities
where there is a significant likelihood of
groups of more than six mingling —
and therefore breaking the law —
should not take place until further Cov-
id-19 secure guidance has been devel-
oped and approved to enable the activi-
ty to happen safely. This may include
extended tour groups, large banquet
dinners, society or club meetings, or
amateur music or drama rehearsals.”
Exemptions allow playgroups and
youth groups to remain open. This ap-
pears to mean that while parents could
not take children to the park for a play-
date with another family if there would
be more than six people, the gathering
would be legal if the children were ac-
companied by a registered childminder.
Weddings, funerals and other “signif-
icant event gatherings” will be allowed
to include up to 30 people. These are
defined as events “to mark or celebrate
a significant milestone in a person’s life”
and include coming-of-age ceremonies
such as bar mitzvahs, but the law says
they must be “other than a birthday”.
The rules do not apply to offices or
other workplaces, nor do they restrict
the numbers in schools, universities
and other educational settings.
Challenged over the exemption for
hunting and shooting, Boris Johnson’s
spokesman said that “organised sports
were included on the list of exemptions”.
Luke Pollard, the shadow environ-
ment secretary, said: “It shows where
this government’s priorities really lie.”
At a glance
Sports
Organised sport or exercise classes
are listed in exemptions published in
England; informal sport is not.Hunting
Grouse shooting and other types of
hunting count as organised sport.Support groups
Groups helping, for example,
addicts, can exceed six.Society and culture
Venues such as places of worship,
restaurants, shops and gyms can
host more than six in total but there
must not be larger groups meeting
within them.Significant milestones
Coming-of-age ceremonies are
allowed but not birthday parties.Protests These can continue to
include groups larger than six, as
long as people follow the guidance.