U.K. Cops Drop All 44 Charges Under New Coronavirus Act

(Bloomberg) --

All 44 charges filed under the U.K.’s Coronavirus Act during the first five weeks of the country’s lockdown have been withdrawn in what critics may seize on as an overzealous interpretation of laws designed to curb the spread of the pandemic.

The cases, which stemmed mainly from people’s refusal to submit to a coronavirus test, were dropped because there was no evidence the people were potentially infectious, the Crown Prosecution Service said Friday. Thirty-eight of the 44 suspects had been charged along with more serious offenses including assault of emergency workers and burglary.

Martin Hewitt, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, apologized for the errors, saying that officers were faced with “unprecedented circumstances” and had been given “new powers within days of them being announced.”

“It is right that any errors have been quickly identified and are being corrected,” Hewitt said.

The U.K.’s rules, rushed through on March 25, have led to police being criticized for misinterpreting the guidelines. A police organization said this week that officers can’t enforce guidance that requires people to be two meters apart.

Still, civil liberties group have been critical and Big Brother Watch said the new laws have introduced the “most draconian powers ever in peace-time Britain.”

Thirty-one of the 44 cases were withdrawn at the first court hearing, and 13 more were later dropped. Eleven of the 44 suspects were instead charged under the new Health Protection Regulations, which covers offenses like traveling across the country for a party, drinking in groups in public and refusing police orders to disperse social gatherings.

Only 12 of the 187 cases under the health regulations were dropped.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.