Once again we see another shocking, large-scale illegal event being held in the borough, putting lives at risk through flagrant breaching of lockdown rules. 

While communities across Hackney and the country are making serious sacrifices to try to curb the spread of the virus and ease pressure on the NHS, a selfish minority of people continue to act in a way that puts them and others in serious danger of contracting or passing on this deadly virus. 

Coronavirus cases in Hackney, as across London, are still very high. Thirty-one Hackney residents were registered as having died of coronavirus in the week leading up to 8 January, the highest since April and the first wave of the pandemic.

The Council has been doing everything in its power to get the Stay at Home message out to all communities, from engaging community leaders to the distribution of thousands of info posters and banners across the borough. And just last Saturday we undertook a day of action with our enforcement team and the police - regular occurrences throughout the pandemic - to engage and inform on the rules. 

However, it’s clear some people are simply unwilling to engage and we’ll be working with the police to see how we can support the prevention of such events in future. I want to thank the police for shutting down the event and welcome the many fines handed out to lawbreakers.