Police and ‘curtain twitchers’ attacked for reporting pensioner drinking cup of tea

Anger over excessive policing and “petty” curtain-twitchers has broken out again following news that a pensioner was given a Covid breach warning by police after having a socially distanced cup of tea in her communal garden.

LBC’s Nick Ferrari branded the decision as “lunacy” and criticised the “ghastly neighbour” who reported the woman. A leading human rights barrister criticised the decision as “the worst” and said that there had not in fact been a breach of the law. Others took to social media to brand the incident “petty”, “pathetic” and “ridiculous.”

The pensioner’s daughter, Lesley Magovern, told ITV News that officers from Gloucestershire Police’s Covid response team turned up at the 82-year-old’s sheltered housing complex at 9.45pm to tell her that she would be fined if the incident happened again. She said: “I can not believe the police travelled from Gloucester to Charlton Kings so late for something so ridiculous”.

But this incident is one of many excessive, and sometimes insensitive, policing decisions made during the pandemic. By 14 February, the Police in England and Wales had issued a total of 68,952 fixed penalty notices for breaches of Coronavirus restrictions – some of which have been heavily criticised.

Last week, The Times reported that a bereaved 91-year-old Irishman was left with a bill of €2,800 after being forced to quarantine while transferring to a connecting flight in Scotland on a journey to the UK to be cared for by his son. Other high-profile examples include Derbyshire Police using drone footage to shame Peak District ramblers and, on a separate occasion, surrounding two women who drove five miles to take a walk and fining them with a hefty £200.

Police have also come under fire for their heavy-handed policing of a vigil for Sarah Everard last weekend. In the face of an outpouring of public anger over the “unacceptable” treatment of the women at the vigil, the Met defended its response, insisting it was the “only responsible thing to do” to ensure public safety during the pandemic.

But it is not just the police that have been criticised for their overzealous approach to lockdown. Members of the public who called out public figures including Amanda Holden and Prince Charles for visiting their “distressed” or ill parents have been branded “curtain twitchers” – and data obtained by The News showed that family and neighbours have reported more than 28,000 Covid rule breaches in Hampshire since the first lockdown was imposed.

Whilst the reporting and policing of Covid laws has undoubtedly saved lives, support for some of the rules is starting to wane. According to the Office for National Statistics, more than 40% of over-80s said they had met someone indoors after receiving a coronavirus vaccine, and a quarter of Britons have admitted to intentionally breaking restrictions to see family, friends or for the sake of their own mental health.

Last month, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said the force remained committed to upholding the law as lockdown restrictions ease, but that there had to be a “degree of realism” and insisted fines would only be issued in the most serious flouting of regulations such as large-scale, indoor, illegal parties… or in this case, a cup of PG Tips.