Anti-lockdown campaigner Piers Corbyn charged with string of coronavirus law breaches

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Piers Corbyn, the anti-lockdown campaigner and brother of ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has been charged with a string of coronavirus law breaches, alongside four other people.

The Metropolitan Police said Mr Corbyn was due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The 73-year-old faces 10 charges in total under England’s Covid-19 regulations, all relating to large gatherings held in central London.

Five pairs of charges each relate to a single event, according to the Met.

Mr Corbyn, of Walworth in south London, is firstly accused of holding, or being involved in holding, a gathering in Trafalgar Square on 29 August last year. He is also charged with participating in it.

He faces the same two charges in relation to a second event at Trafalgar Square on 26 September; one in Westminster on 24 October; a fourth on 28 November in Westminster; and finally an event on the South Bank on 31 December.

Four other people are due in court on similar charges.

Kay Allison Shemirani, 55, of Timberley Gardens in Uckfield, is accused of being involved with and attending two Trafalgar Square gatherings on 29 August and 19 September, and one in Whitehall on 5 September.

Fiona Hine, 35, of Arabella Drive in Roehampton, Wandsworth, is accused of participating in the 29 August and 5 September events, and of being involved with and also attending the gathering on 19 September.

Louise Creffield, 34, of Reading Road in Brighton, is charged with holding and participating in the events on 29 August, 26 September, 24 October and 28 November.

And 54-year-old Vincent Dunmall, of Clarendon Green in Orpington, Kent, faces the same accusations as Ms Creffield.

The full list of charges under varying sections of the coronavirus regulations was released on the Met’s website.