The government’s £300 million Covid warden project is now being rolled out across the country, with councils asked to provide wardens to monitor and enforce social distancing rules. These wardens do not have formal powers, but they are linked into council enforcers and to the police. The government guidance for the Covid warden scheme suggests that councils employ private security guards in this role. Unsurprisingly, reports of heavy-handed conduct are coming in. One Norfolk restaurant owner was invaded by ‘black-booted bouncers’, with an ‘aggressive’ manner, after he offered to give his customers a free Scotch egg and salad with their drinks. According…

I received an email from the chairman of 2020 Voice Cancer charity, regarding the treatment of one of his older supporters while on a visit to the seaside. An elderly man, using his mobility scooter, for the reason that he has a terminal cancer which has badly affected his ability to walk, was most grateful to arrive at a waterfront bar. He switched off his scooter, disembarked, with walking stick, and entered: he was desperate to use the toilet which was situated just inside the door and to the left. Having got half way to said toilets he was yelled at by…

Brockwell Park in London was closed after what Lambeth council called ‘unacceptable behaviour’ by residents at the weekend. The problem, said the council, was ‘sunbathing’, which went against the ‘clear advice’ from the government about the ‘essential reasons’ for which you may leave your home. The sunbathers came in for much flack on social media, where they were called ‘selfish idiots’ (and worse), who are risking lives and killing others. Sunbathers in #BrockwellPark about to get catch! Exercise🏃🏾‍♂️🏃🏾‍♀️🏋️‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️ or #StayHomeSaveLives #Lambeth #Brixton pic.twitter.com/W8aZvUNAm7 — Juanne Fuller (@SouthActonGirl) April 4, 2020 But really? As one tweeter pointed out, the 3000 people in Brockwell…

There are a worrying number of examples of the police going out of their way to impose needless restrictions upon people, under the guise of the Coronavirus threat. These include – – One man on Facebook reported that police were shouting with megaphones at a couple sitting on a park bench, telling them to move on. They were allowed to walk or run in the park, apparently, but not sit. – Footage of police ordering people off Shepherd’s Bush Green, where they had been lying in scattered pairs or family groups, saying ‘it’s not a holiday, it’s a lockdown’. – Derbyshire Police…

Today we are living with extraordinary restrictions on our liberties. Ordinary freedoms, such as going for a walk in a park or meeting a friend, are no longer possible. The Coronavirus Bill going through parliament gives state agents unprecedented powers to detain and confine individuals, and to prohibit public events and gatherings. Of course, we are facing an urgent public health situation and this means that things cannot carry on as before. And yet it is more imperative than ever that state power and restrictions are targeted, necessary, open to public scrutiny, and not employed for a minute longer than necessary. Because…