Over 28,000 people were convicted of breaching COVID-19 regulations in England and Wales during the coronavirus pandemic, with the average fine standing at a whopping £6,000 (GBP), or $7,743 (USD), in some instances rising to £10,000 ($12,900).
Just under 16,000 of the known convictions involved people under 30, with many receiving a criminal record for minor breaches which will, in turn, severely impact their future prospects. Senior government figures and advisors were not charged or fined by the government, however, despite their own very public breaches.
One particularly high-profile example of this includes the former Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, who caught kissing his mistress at the Department of Health offices, in contravention of his own distancing rules.
Britain’s closest answer to Antony Fauci – Professor Neil Ferguson – was also caught sleeping with his mistress after demanding stringent lockdown measures be forced onto the public which technically banned his own romping trips.
“It is ridiculous that the courts are still prosecuting people for COVID offenses. All outstanding COVID prosecutions should be cancelled immediately,” argued Penelope Gibbs, director of Transform Justice, a London-based criminal reform group.
A recent report found that Britain’s lockdown measures failed to significantly reduce deaths while imposing substantial social, cultural, and economic costs saving just 1,700 lives in the United Kingdom.
