Almost A Third Of Covid Prosecutions Wrongful

Almost a third of Covid prosecutions have been wrongful, new figures show as Partygate sparks scrutiny of the legal system around fines.

- Lizzie Dearden

Data obtained by The Independent shows that 29 per cent of charges reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) since March 2020 were found to be “incorrect” – 839 in total.

The figure includes 528 of over 2,500 prosecutions under the Health Protection Regulations, which were the laws broken by politicians and civil servants fined over Downing Street parties.

Every single one of the 311 charges brought under the separate Coronavirus Act were wrongful, because criminal offences under the law only apply to “potentially infectious persons” and it was misapplied by police forces.

The numbers, which include all Covid prosecutions finalised between March 2020 and the end of February, are likely to rise as more cases go to court.

Anyone who does not pay a Covid fine within 28 days can be charged with an offence, and the government has ignored calls from parliamentary committees to create an appeal process that would stop innocent people having to risk prosecution to defend themselves.

The latest figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) show there are more than 50,000 unpaid fixed penalty notices (FPNs) being considered for prosecution.

“These unpaid FPNs, and their outcome, are therefore a matter for the courts,” said an official document. “This is the standard procedure when an FPN is not paid within the relevant payment period.”