More than 28,000 convicted over Covid breaches
More than 28,000 people in England and Wales have been convicted of breaches of Covid-19 regulations despite the government's insistence that it never intended to criminalise people for minor infractions during the pandemic.
The convictions are for Covidrelated offences, such as attendance at gatherings during lockdowns or arriving at airports without the proper evidence of a coronavirus test. Almost 16,000 of the convictions or 55% - involved people under 30.
The figures, which were obtained by the Guardian through analysis of data from the Ministry of Justice, are considerably higher than any previous estimate. Two years after restrictions were lifted, magistrates are continuing to work through a backlog of cases, with about 100 related to Covid heard each month.
The average fine issued in magistrates courts last year was £6,000, although some people have been fined as much as £10,000.
The figures will add impetus to growing calls on the government to halt the criminal prosecutions.
Penelope Gibbs, the director of the campaign group Transform Justice, said: "It is ridiculous that the courts are still prosecuting people for Covid offences. All outstanding Covid prosecutions should be cancelled immediately."
The government said it intended to treat most breaches of the regulations as civil infractions, introducing fines to deter behaviour that could spread the virus, rather than criminalising people.
The minister for policing at the time, Kit Malthouse, told the justice committee in 2021 that the on-the-spot penalties were a "psychological game" and "relatively light-touch". Lord Bethell, who was a health department minister, said the government was "clamping down on ... but not criminalising behaviour".
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