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Covid-denier ‘arrested for refusing to leave bench’

A Covid-denier was placed in handcuffs today after she allegedly refused to move off a bench on Bournemouth beach when asked to by police.

In a video clip shared on social media, the woman could be heard asking several police officers surrounding her why she needed to comply with their instructions.

She went on: ‘I don’t believe in this virus, you cannot prove it exists and yet you’re exerting your force. Prove to me it exists and I’ll go home now.’ She then stated that she hadn’t ‘broken a law’ and claimed the officers wouldn’t let her leave.

A second video clip then showed the same woman being handcuffed and led away by the officers, as onlookers asked what was happening. The woman could be heard repeatedly shouting in reply: ‘I was sitting on a bench.’

Several people then followed the woman, with one of them telling the officers: ‘This is disgusting, what are you doing? What was this poor woman doing?’

Another voice could be heard shouting: ‘Why are her hands behind her back?’ as the person filming the incident said to the police: ‘You’ve got to choose your side’.

A woman is placed in handcuffs for allegedly refusing to leave Bournemouth beach
The woman repeatedly told onlookers she had been sitting on a bench (Picture: Nickcapo__)

A witness who watched the scene unfold claimed there had been an anti-lockdown protest by the beach, which caused the police to ask people to clear the area. 

Footage filmed shortly before the incident also showed a second woman tearfully refusing to give officers her details, telling them: ‘I was sat on a bench having a cup of coffee, that is not anti-social’. 

It comes as both Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Home Secretary Priti Patel defended the police for strongly enforcing current coronavirus restrictions.

Earlier this week, Derbyshire Police were branded ‘bonkers’ for issuing two women a £200 fine each after they separately drove to a beauty spot five miles from their homes for a walk together.

Woman arrested, Bournemouth beach (Picture: Facebook)
She asked the police officers to prove that Covid existed (Picture: Facebook)

Jessica Allen and Eliza Moore, both 27, were told by officers that their cups of peppermint tea from Starbucks were classed as a ‘picnic’, with the force later adding that driving to a location for exercise was ‘not in the spirit’ of the restrictions.

Today Hancock said he ‘absolutely’ backed the police over the incident, telling Sky News this morning: ‘I think the police have been doing an absolutely brilliant job in very difficult circumstances.’

He went on: ‘The challenge here is that every flexibility can be fatal. You might look at the rules and think to yourself, well it doesn’t matter too much if I just do this or I just do that.

‘These rules are not there as boundaries to be pushed, they are the limit of what people should be doing.’

Woman arrested, Bournemouth beach (Picture: Facebook)
The woman was allegedly asked to leave the area (Picture: Facebook)

Similarly, Patel praised police officers for working ‘tirelessly’ to keep the public safe amid the pandemic. She said: ‘Not only are they continuing to take criminals off our streets, but they are also playing a crucial role in controlling the spread of the virus.

‘The vast majority of the public have supported this huge national effort and followed the rules.

‘But the tragic number of new cases and deaths this week shows there is still a need for strong enforcement where people are clearly breaking these rules to ensure we safeguard our country’s recovery from this deadly virus.

‘Enforcing these rules saves lives. It is as simple as that. Officers will continue to engage with the public across the country and will not hesitate to take action when necessary.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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source https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/10/covid-denier-arrested-for-refusing-to-leave-bench-13879133/

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