Wearing masks will be compulsory in shops and supermarkets from July 24. Hundreds of anti-mask activists marched on London's Hyde Park to protest the mandatory use of face coverings in shops. Rule breakers will be hit with a £100 which can be reduced to £50 if paid within a fortnight.
The march started in Speaker's Corner and moved to Marble Arch. They raised placards that read: 'I will be not be masked, tested, tracked or poisoned during the ‘Keep Britain Free’ march. While rules for wearing masks remain stringent even in public transport, the government reiterated its stance on covering faces in public places in England earlier this week.
The movement was founded by Simon Dolan, an aviation tycoon worth around £200million, who earlier this month lost a High Court bid to overturn the government's lockdown rules. Launching the movement on July 6, the Essex-born entrepreneur said: 'I believe in freedom of choice for all and the protection of personal liberties. The Government’s actions are crippling the economy, denying children education, and trampling over human rights.'
The demonstrators used more slogans and phrases like: ‘'the erosion of freedoms in the UK and 'liberty-sapping regulation'. Some protesters came dressed as a plague doctor, another had a mask with the front ripped out and one donned a vest saying: 'Save human rights. No to 5G. No to vaccinations.' Keep Britain Free's website cited the new rules for shops 'was the last straw, following 16 weeks of liberty-sapping regulations and laws imposed during lockdown'.
According to online reports, its founder lost his High Court bid to reverse lockdown measures earlier this month, but is thought planning an appeal. Ms Butler-Smith told Sky News: 'It is just the fact that people are being told they have no choice about wearing a mask. Because the Government started out saying ''there is absolutely no need for a mask'', and many other important scientists have reportedly said the same, it did not make any sense why they suddenly said it was going to be mandated.
If the Government really wants to protect the public and give them more confidence then they should stop trying to use the coercion strategy or to make people scared.'
The group's website adds: 'They will starve the battered retail sector of the oxygen that is needed to claw its way back to something like a healthy position. Moreover, it is a further barrier to people getting back to a normal life. It is not just about masks. It is about your rights, your freedoms and your way of life, all of which has been changed to your detriment by this Government. So we urge you to join Keep Britain Free on for the peaceful demonstration to demand restoration of freedom and liberties.'
Hours after Matt Hancock suggested the opposite, PM Boris Johnson was said to have sent mixed messages that meant wearing masks and face coverings weren’t necessary. While Cabinet colleagues Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were pictured protecting themselves at the same store, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove dismissed the idea of making face coverings compulsory in shops last weekend, said it was best to 'trust' the public to make a personal decision. He was spotted not wearing a mask while he stepped out of Pret in London last Tuesday.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, tweeted: 'This is frankly ridiculous. The virus doesn't know if you're in a take-away or a supermarket.
