Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Does Matt Hancock really think banning all exercise is a good idea?

Matt Hancock has threatened that the government will ban all forms of outdoor exercise if a ‘minority’ of people continue to ignore social distancing rules.

Ministers had been worrying that this weekend, which is sunny and warm, would see people trying to get around the lockdown by congregating in parks. Yesterday there were reports – not all of them hugely reliable or conclusive – of large numbers of people turning up to their local parks, with police forces dispersing groups and stopping people from sunbathing. Lambeth Council has announced Brockwell Park in London will be closed today after too many people converged on it.

Hancock’s threat looked inevitable before the weekend had begun, but given today’s weather is going to be even lovelier, he issued this warning on Marr:

One of the problems in Britain is that while the rules themselves are relatively simple, everyone is offering slightly different interpretations of them.

‘My message is really clear: If you don’t want us to have to take the step to ban exercise of all forms outside of your own home, then you have got to follow the rules.

‘The vast majority of people are following the rules. Let’s not have a minority spoiling it for everybody.’

In other countries such as France and Italy, the perimeter around someone’s home where they can exercise has gradually shrunk as the lockdown has tightened. One of the problems in Britain is that while the rules themselves are relatively simple, everyone is offering slightly different interpretations of them. It’s not just the heavy-handed policing that I covered earlier in the week, but also ministers who find themselves asked about specific examples in broadcast interviews and can’t resist embellishing on the official guidance. No. 10 corrected Transport Secretary Grant Shapps after he said people should only leave the house to buy essentials once a week.

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