Piers Corbyn has been told he has to pay more than £1,000 after breaking Covid rules by attending anti-lockdown protests in London.
The 75-year-old, who is the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, was found guilty of taking part in four different rule-breaking gatherings in 2020.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard the gatherings breached Covid restrictions by having more people present than was allowed, and took place between August 29 and December 31, 2020.
The Metropolitan Police said Corbyn, who has become well known for his anti-lockdown views, was fined £750 and told to pay £275 in costs and £109 in surcharges for his participation in incidents in Trafalgar Square, Westminster and South Bank.
These incidents saw more than 30 people gathering at a time when regulations said groups of more than six people were not allowed to meet outside unless certain exemptions applied.
Piers Corbyn, pictured here hosting an anti-lockdown protest on New Year’s Eve on London’s South Bank, has been told to pay more than £1,000 for being involved in four gatherings that breached Covid rules
The 75-year-old, who is pictured here being arrested at an anti-lockdown protest in Trafalgar Square on August 29, 2020, is well known for his Covid conspiracy theories
Fellow protesters Vincent Dunmall, 55, from Orpington, south-east London, and Louise Creffield, 36, of Brighton, were also found guilty of taking part in three of the gatherings between August 29 and October 24 2020.
Creffield was fined £250 for all three dates and she also had to pay £50 in prosecution costs and £34 in surcharges.
Dunmall was fined £175 and he also had to pay £75 in prosecution costs and £34 in surcharges.
Detective Inspector Chris Rudd, of the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘It was saddening to have to deal with these incidents where large numbers of people illegally gathered in breach of Covid regulations during a national emergency period.
‘At a time when so many members of the public were making considerable sacrifices and abiding by the rules to keep others safe, these individuals acted selfishly and risked spreading the virus.
‘However, our policing response demonstrated that we were prepared to take action and issue fixed penalty notices to those deliberately flouted the rules.’
Corbyn attended dozens of anti-lockdown protests across the country during the pandemic, including events in London, Manchester and Bristol.
Jeremy Corbyn’s brother Piers (right) is a well-known conspiracy theorist who has spouted claims that the coronavirus is linked to 5G mobile networks. Pictured with him at the August 29 demo in 2020 is struck-off nurse Kate Shemirani (left), who has also spouted conspiracy theories about the disease
More than 10,000 Covid conspiracy theorists who believe the virus is a hoax gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square on August 29, 2020, to protest against lockdown restrictions and vaccination programmes. Piers Corbyn has been fined for his role in this protest
The four events he was fined for yesterday are gatherings at Trafalgar Square on August 29 and September 26, in Westminster on October 24 and on the South Bank on December 31. All took place in 2020.
Creffield and Dunmall were both fined for the same gatherings in Trafalgar Square and at Westminster.
At the first of these more than 10,000 Covid conspiracy theorists gathered in London to demonstrate against lockdown restrictions and vaccination programmes.
The ‘Unite for Freedom’ rally saw speeches Corbyn and other conspiracy theorists, such as David Icke and struck-off nurse Kate Shermirani.
Demonstrators at the event called for an ‘end to Government lies’ and the restoration of all freedoms as they marched past Downing Street towards the Houses of Parliament.
Corbyn was pictured at the protest being taken away by a gaggle of mask-wearing police officers, who hauled him into a van, with the Met Police announcing afterwards they had arrested a 73-year-old man on suspicion of breaking the new coronavirus health protection regulations at Trafalgar Square.
Corbyn had been arrested months before on May 16 and May 30 while protesting in Hyde Park as well.
He was taken into custody after using a microphone to say ‘vaccination is not necessary’ and ‘5G towers will be installed everywhere’, adding: ‘5G enhances anyone who’s got illness from Covid, so they work together.’
A massive crowd of people walks through the streets of London during an anti-lockdown protest on August 29, 2020, that Corbyn was involved in
There is no evidence to link 5G and Covid-19 and scientists fear that a rise in measles among children can be attributed in part to unfounded fears about vaccines.
He later claimed that despite being found guilty of breaching rules for the May 16 gathering, he was not fined after being given an absolute discharge.
Among the other gatherings he has been fined for is a demonstration on London’s South Bank on New Year’s Eve 2020.
In the video of the protest, Corbyn was seen confronting a line of police officers along the South Bank close to the London Eye, where thousands usually gather for New Year’s Eve celebrations which were cancelled that year due to Covid restrictions.
Corbyn bragged that around 1,000 people took part in the protest but in the video, barely two dozen are visible.
Corbyn, who became one of the country’s leading anti-lockdown voices, posted a video of what was dubbed the ‘NYE Party of Parties’ on his Twitter feed after a gathering on London’s South Bank on December 31, 2020. Here he is pictured holding a flaming torch at the protest
Corbyn, who was fined for his role in the New Year’s Eve gathering, had bragged that around 1,000 people took part in the protest, but in a video of it barely two dozen are visible. Here he is pictured speaking to police officers at the protest
Wearing a black woolly hat, Corbyn was seen leading a group of protestors chanting ‘Freedom’ as they approached the police line.
Despite attempts by officers to prevent them from continuing, they manage to break through and continue along the banks of the River Thames.
Seconds later, he was confronted by a group of police officers and appeared to be having a conversation with them before the fixed penalty notice of £200 was believed to have been issued.
He later stood as a candidate in the London Mayoral elections in 2021, declaring he would ‘end lockdown on day one as mayor’.
He finished 11th with 20,604 votes while his party, Let London Live, finished 12th in the London Assembly election with 15,755 votes.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10968311/Piers-Corbyn-pay-1-000-breaking-Covid-rules-attending-anti-lockdown-protests.html
