Home Secretary Priti Patel has confirmed that police will be handing out fines to people who break the coronavirus lockdown rules.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain Ms Patel said that over Christmas and New Year 800 fines had been issued to people who were flouting the covid laws.
During the new national lockdown Ms Patel said people should only be out for a limited number of reasons and should expect to be stopped by the police and asked why they are not at home.
She said: "The police will absolutely continue to be strong on enforcement, we're in a lockdown we're back to where we were at the start of Spring last year, so the public should only be out for very restricted reasons only.
"That is literally to go to work, go to the shops, seek medical advice and if people are fleeing terrible situations like domestic abuse then clearly people should leave their home.
"But we are in such a situation now that the need to be out and about will be very restricted, so it's inevitable that you will see the police if you're out and about.
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"If you are out you may see police officers and they may ask you for a justification as to why you are out and about.
"If you are seen to be breaching the rules the police will take enforcement action against you and they will issue you with a fixed penalty notice."
Speaking this morning on LBC Ms Patel refused to speculate on whether there would be any easing of restrictions before March, but reiterated the need to "whack the virus down".
She said: "I would love to say, of course we would love to see that and say that but that's not for us to speculate.
"We all just need to absolutely whack this virus down, we've got to reduce the R factor... it's a wretched, wretched disease, it really is.
"Right now the focus of the Government and the NHS is to get the jab into people's arms."
