You can now get an £800 fine if you attend a party of more than 15 people

You can now be fined up to £6,400 for attending an illegal house party.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, announced today a new £800 fine for people who attend house parties in England. This applies to all illegal gatherings of more than 15 people in homes.

The £800 fine will double for each offence, up to £6,400.

Organisers will be fined £10,000. This was already the case, although applied to illegal gatherings of more than 30 people.

Several students have been hit with this £10,000 fine this uni year, including in Nottingham and Norwich.

Talking generally about the coronavirus rules in the briefing this evening, Priti Patel said there is a “small minority who refuse to do the right thing”, and for those who don’t follow the rules, “the police will enforce them”.

She said coronavirus rule-breakers show “irresponsible behaviour” which “poses a significant threat to public health”.

Today there were 1,290 coronavirus-related deaths reported. The total since the start of the pandemic is now 94,580.

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