Police to break up family Christmas dinners if lockdown orders are disobeyed

Police chiefs throughout the UK are warning families that any Christmas or holiday celebrations that go against the lockdown regulations will be broken up by police.

David Jamieson, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Midlands, said that the public is invited to call in complaints of families disobeying quarantine rules and that to break up Christmas dinners officers may used forced entry.

According to the Daily Mail, West Midlands is under Tier 2 restrictions, meaning that households are not allowed to mix together indoors.

Jamieson said, "If we think there's large groups of people gathering where they shouldn't be, then police will have to intervene. If, again, there's flagrant breaking of the rules, then the police would have to enforce. It's not the police's job to stop people enjoying their Christmas. However, we are there to enforce the rules that the Government makes, and if the Government makes those rules then the Government has to explain that to the public."

Jamieson iterated further that the same thing applies to upcoming Hanukkah and Diwali celebrations, which are also very family-oriented holidays and could tempt the public to break the rules.

He was also concerned about the potential for unrest, considering how long these measures have been going on. "We're sitting on a time bomb here. We're getting very near the stage where you could see a considerable explosion of frustration and energy. Things are very on the edge in a lot of communities and it wouldn't take very much to spark off unrest, riots, damage."

He went on to say that it could even spark people who have never committed a crime to take part in civil unrest and even violence, due to the circumstances.

Under the UK's three-tier system, there are three sets of restrictions, each more severe than the last. In Tier 3, travel into and out of the region is prohibited. Many business have been forced to close again.

Wales is currently undergoing an even more severe "firebreak lockdown," which includes strict stay-at-home orders, and that meeting anybody from another household is prohibited. All non-essential shops in Wales have now been forced to close back up.

Even under Tier 1 restrictions, the "rule of six" still applies, where no more than six people can gather under almost any circumstance. There is also a 10 p.m. curfew in effect throughout the UK.