Police break up wedding with 150 guests in East London
Organiser fined £10,000 and five £200 fixed penalty notices issued
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Police have issued a £10,000 fine to the organiser of a wedding attended by 150 people on Thursday.
Metropolitan Police officers responded to reports of a large gathering at a school building in Egerton Road, Stamford Hill.
When they arrived at the scene, officers found 150 people packed together and in breach of Covid regulations. Many attendees fled the scene as police arrived.
The force initially said 400 people were at the wedding, but later revised it down.
As well as the £10,000 fine to the organiser, five £200 fixed penalty notices were also given to individuals at the scene.
The news comes after the home secretary, Priti Patel, announced an £800 fine for “house parties” with more than 15 attendees.
Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett, central east BCU commander, said: "This was a completely unacceptable breach of the law, which is very clearly in place to save lives and protect the NHS. An NHS that is under considerable pressure at a time when Covid-19 has killed nearly 100,000 people.
"This is a deadly and very dangerous disease. We can all see that and we must act responsibly.
"People across the country are making sacrifices by cancelling or postponing weddings and other celebrations and there is no excuse for this type of behaviour.
"My officers are working tirelessly with the community and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action if that is required to keep people safe."
In England, if someone is found breaking Covid restrictions, they can be fined £200 for the first offence, lowered to £100 if paid within 14 days, or £400 for the second offence, then doubling for each further offence up to a maximum of £6,400.
If people are found hosting large parties, they can be fined up to £10,000.
Between March 2020 and January 2021, 32,000 fines were issued in England and Wales.