Originally Posted by
corporate-wage-slave
I don't know much about today's group. But yesterday some turned up with ski equipment, others professed to not knowing about the restrictions, or admitted they were going on holiday. There were a couple of inter-family groups in there too, which is a separate offence. Some travellers who may have had a reasonable excuse were sent off to retrieve paperwork to confirm their reasons for travel. As far as I know, this is fully within the mandate that the police have, indeed they seem to be avoiding FPNs and arrests, for example and instead using their powers to send people home. I guess they are mainly UK residents at least, but I don't know for sure.
Showing up wit ski equipment is just laughable. Totally asking for it.
But pushing people to show documentation I feel is not within the guidance, never mind the law. No where does it say you should travel with proof of your reasonable excuse to be out of home. And while certain proof would be easy to obtain - a work letter or documentation that you were traveling to participate in a court case, what about compassionate travel? You are going to visit a dying relative - do you need to show their medical records? That would seem to be quite a bridge too far. I would hope that the people that were pushed for documentation were dubious and hadn’t presented a credible explanation with a straight face. But again, I think this is outside of the scope of what people have been told to do.
And I guess the real question is - what if someone says no, I want to go on holiday, I will take the fine. Are they arrested? Forcibly sent home? Or are they given the fine? And how does that play for foreign citizens?