London: London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not break the law when he was spotted cycling in a park seven miles away from his official residence in Downing Street amid a coronavirus-related lockdown.
On Monday, the Evening Standard newspaper published a photograph of Johnson biking on Sunday in the Olympic Park, in east London, prompting criticism against him for allegedly breaking his government’s own lockdown rules stipulating that outdoor exercise must be practiced without traveling outside the local area.
“What I can say is it is not against the law,” the senior police officer told BBC Radio 4 Today program, adding that she will not comment further on an individual case.
The police chief said, however, that officers and the public should be given more clarity on what the term “local” means.
In an article written in The Times on Tuesday, Dick said that it is “preposterous” that some people could be unaware of their duty to do all they can to stop the spread of the virus, and warned that people are “increasingly likely” to face fines for breaking lockdown rules.
“Most people are doing the right thing to keep each other safe, but sadly a small minority of people continue to flagrantly ignore the rules, for example by holding house parties, meeting in basements to gamble or breaking into railway arches for unlicensed raves,” she wrote.
Her warning comes at a time when hospitals in England are on the edge of being overwhelmed by the continued spread of COVID-19, and authorities have not ruled out taking stricter social distancing measures.
The UK is the worst-hit country in Europe due to the pandemic, with 3,118,518 coronavirus cases and 81,960 deaths as of Monday. (UNI)