Covid: £800 house party fines to be introduced in England

Fines of £800 for anyone attending a house party of more than 15 people will be introduced in England from next week, under new Covid measures.

These will double for each repeat offence to a maximum of £6,400.

At a No 10 news conference, Home Secretary Priti Patel said there remained a “small minority that refuse to do the right thing”.

“To them my message is clear: If you don’t follow rules then the police will enforce them,” she said.

Fines of up to £10,000 for holding large illegal gatherings of more than 30 people will still only apply to the organisers.

Ms Patel added that the government would “not stand by while a small number of individuals put others at risk”.

Welcoming the fines announcement, Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said large gatherings were “dangerous, irresponsible, and totally unacceptable”.

He added: “I hope that the likelihood of an increased fine acts as a disincentive for those people who are thinking of attending or organising such events.”