#UK police to break up COVID rule-flouting Christmas parties

Police chiefs in the UK warned that family holiday gatherings may be broken up if they flout coronavirus restrictions.

Top cops in the counties of West Midlands and Merseyside said officers will intervene if they get reports of COVID-19 rule-breaking over the festive period, The Daily Mail reported.

“If we think there’s large groups of people gathering where they shouldn’t be, then police will have to intervene,” David Jamieson, the West Midlands police and crime commissioner, told The Telegraph.

“It’s not the police’s job to stop people enjoying their Christmas. However, we are there to enforce the rules that the government makes,” Jamieson added.

The West Midlands are currently under Tier 2 restrictions, meaning people can’t mix with anyone outside their own households or “bubble” indoors.

Jamieson also warned people against holding large gatherings inside during the upcoming Hanukkah and Diwali celebrations.

Jane Kennedy, the police and crime commissioner in Merseyside, which is currently a Tier 3 region, said she would also probe reports of illegal gatherings over Christmas.