Police raid London barber’s shop and catch staff cutting two men’s hair despite lockdown

This is the moment police catch barber shop staff cutting two men’s hair amid the lockdown before hitting the owner with a £1,000 fine for their ‘blatant disregard of coronavirus regulations’.

Body-cam footage released by City of London Police shows officers raid The Grooming Lounge Barbers, in Barbican, and catch two customers receiving a haircut from staff despite the current restrictions on January 9.

The scenes come just weeks after England was plunged into a third national lockdown amid the spread of a mutant version of the coronavirus.

Staff inside The Grooming Lounge Barbers, in Barbican, central London, are caught cutting two men’s hair on January 9

City of London police enter the barber shop in London which has been covered in old newspapers

During the clip, which was shared by the force on social media, the police enter the barber shop and confront members of staff.

The shop’s windows had been covered with old newspapers in an apparent attempt to stop people from seeing they were open.

In a statement the force said: ‘On Saturday 9 January 2021, at approximately 14:40hrs, City of London Police officers responded to report by a member of the public and attended a barbershop in the City that was still operating, despite current restrictions. 

‘This is a clear breach of coronavirus regulations and in line with the legislation, the owner was issued with a £1,000 fine.’

The force also took to Twitter to explain: ‘City of London Police officers attended a barbershop in the City that was operating despite current restrictions. 

‘The owner was issued with a £1,000 fine. This is a blatant disregard of coronavirus regulations & won’t be tolerated. The message is clear: #StayAtHome.

‘Most people are doing their part and obeying the rules to protect the NHS and save lives, but we will continue to deal with those who flout the rules putting everyone at risk.’      

It comes after Sainsbury’s reinstated bouncers outside its supermarkets to tackle shoppers not wearing a mask after police said they lacked the manpower to enforce the rules.

The chain sent an email to all customers saying guards would ‘challenge’ maskless customers or people shopping in groups. 

An officer enters the shop and speaks with the hairdressers who have breached the coronavirus laws

The officer catches the members of staff cutting hair despite the current restrictions in place

The Grooming Lounge Barbers, in Barbican, was slapped with a £1,000 fine after they were caught by police on January 9

It joins Morrisons, who has also reintroduced security at the doors and vowed to ban anyone refusing to wear a face covering without a medical exemption.

Britain’s policing minister Kit Malthouse said police would intervene in serious breaches of Covid rules in shops, but measures imposed and enforced by owners would be effective in most cases.

Meanwhile Brian Booth, chair of West Yorkshire Police Federation, emphasised that officers would only intervene if ‘other offences were committed’, such as when the customer refusing to wear a mask became violent or abusive.  

Mr Booth criticised the current regulations as ‘woolly’, saying they left too many ‘loose ends’ which ‘cheesed-off’ officers had to interpret for themselves.

It came as Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said it was ‘preposterous’ that people would not know the Covid rules, and vowed to continue fining lawbreakers. 

Writing in The Times today, Dame Cressida said: ‘It is preposterous to me that anyone could be unaware of our duty to do all we can to stop the spread of the virus. 

‘We have been clear that those who breach Covid-19 legislation are increasingly likely to face fines.

‘We will still be engaging, explaining and encouraging but those who break the rules or refuse to comply where they should without good reason will find officers moving much more quickly to enforcement action.’  

Meanwhile in Derbyshire, two women who were fined £200 for driving seven miles  to Foremark Reservoir for a walk said the police had cancelled their fines following a backlash against an overzealous interpretation of the law.

Jessica Allen and Eliza Moore, both 27, were slapped with the penalties on Wednesday after they were approached by several officers in the park.

Derbyshire Police originally defended the decision to fine the women for breaching Covid rules but Ms Allen today revealed they had received separate calls from the force who apologised to them both and informed them their fines will be scrapped.