Wedding with 400 guests discovered at north London school

A wedding attended by around 400 people at a north London school has been broken up by police with the organiser facing a £10,000 fine.

The windows of the building in Egerton Road, Stamford Hill, had been covered to stop people seeing in when officers arrived on Thursday night.

Around 400 people had gathered inside the building for a wedding in breach of Covid-19 regulations, the Metropolitan Police said.

Many of the guests fled as officers arrived but the force said the organiser will be reported for consideration of a £10,000 fine, while five others were handed £200 fixed penalty notices.

Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett said: “This was a completely unacceptable breach of the law, which is very clearly in place to save lives and protect the NHS.

“An NHS that is under considerable pressure at a time when Covid-19 has killed nearly 100,000 people.

“This is a deadly and very dangerous disease. We can all see that and we must act responsibly.

“People across the country are making sacrifices by cancelling or postponing weddings and other celebrations and there is no excuse for this type of behaviour.

“My officers are working tirelessly with the community and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action if that is required to keep people safe.”