London shisha cafe owner faces fine over Covid-19 breach

Police found 50 people smoking pipes, watching football and listening to music

Police in London found 29 people at a shisha bar in breach of coronavirus rules. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Police in London burst into a cafe to find about 50 people smoking shisha pipes and watching football in breach of Covid-19 rules.

The group fled when officers arrived to find 21 shisha pipes still warm, London’s Metropolitan Police said.

They were alerted to loud music playing at the venue in Wembley, north-west London, on Tuesday. The owner faces a potential fine of £10,000 ($13,700).

Britain’s Covid-19 regulations ban mixing between people from different households, other than in limited circumstances.

"I completely appreciate that 2020 has been a tough year for many of us, but now is not the time for people to start getting relaxed about the rules that have been put in place to help slow and reduce the spread of this virus," said Louis Smith, the police commander in the area.

Health officials said the virus is rampant in some communities after the discovery of a new fast-spreading mutation.

A UK record high of more than 55,000 cases were recorded on New Year's Eve – with a further 964 deaths. More than 73,000 people have died, the second highest death toll in Europe behind Italy.

More than three quarters of the population are now living under the most severe restrictions, limiting social contact to prevent the spread of the disease.