House arrest

The whole country is under efective house arrest. The right to travel, work, be self employed or even worship has been suspended.

These restrictions have been brought under the implementation of a Statutory Instrument (SI), which means it has had no Parliamentary scrutiny. And the powers it gives the police could easily be mis-used, and evidence is already there that such powers have been abused.

The police are stopping people and turning them round, or issuing proceedings against members of the public if people are just going out for a drive, or if, in the police's view, the item being sourced is not essential.

The SI itself falls under public health law, and in such the police should only step in if there is an actual breach in the SI itself, or a danger to public health, not use the SI to restrict people's movement.

If the law is not applied correctly, it will be discredited and then ignored, and where will be then?

Members of the public are now watching neighbours and snitching on them on social media for any imagined transgressions, un-necessary journeys or gatherings.

Giving the police these powers without defined boundaries mean some will operate in a more draconian way than others.

People should be able to drive to take a walk or exercise their dogs or their families; what about those who live in flats and/or without suitable nearby spaces for exercise?

We should know by the end of the week if the social distancing measures are having any effect, if there is no such evidence, the people will be far less likely to obey current or future restrictions on their liberty.

It should be pointed out that this point, that social distancing on its own probably won't work, mass testing needs to be done, and as yet is failing even the most basic targets set by Matt Hancock.