Police say they are "fighting a losing battle" over enforcing the lockdown after "hundreds" turned out in parks across east London to enjoy picnics in the sunshine.

Lethbridge police are being investigated by an outside force after handcuffing a woman in a stormtrooper costume outside a Star Wars-themed business earlier this week. But still the force faces accusations that not enough is being done to investigate what happened.

Police have dropped an investigation into two prominent Brexit campaigners accused of breaching spending rules during the referendum campaign. In 2018 the Electoral commission said that Alan Halsall, of Vote Leave, and Darren Grimes, founder of pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, failed to declare a payment related to the campaign. The watchdog said that BeLeave "spent more than £675,000 with (Canadian data firm) Aggregate IQ under a common plan with Vote Leave". This spending took Vote Leave over its £7 million legal spending limit by almost £500,000. Vote Leave paid a £61,000 fine, but denied wrongdoing, while Mr Grimes won an appeal against his £20,000 fine in July. The Commission also referred the pair to the Metropolitan Police but on Friday it was revealed that the investigations had now been dropped. A spokesman for the Leave campaigners said: "The Metropolitan Police has written to Vote Leave board member Alan Halsall and BeLeave founder Darren Grimes to confirm that it will not be acting on allegations made against them by the Electoral Commission and various Remain campaigners. "This marks the end of a two-year ordeal for both individuals." Mr Grimes, 26, said the development called into question whether the Electoral Commission was "fit for purpose". He had insisted since the allegations were first made that he was "completely innocent" of making false declarations in relation to the £680,000 donation. In a statement, Mr Grimes, a former fashion student originally from County Durham, said: "The Metropolitan Police has found, after investigation and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, that there is no case to be answered. "Once again the Electoral Commission has been found to be part of the mob, a quango out of control that isn't policing elections so much as punishing Leavers who have the temerity to win them. "My ordeal at the hands of the kangaroo court that is the Electoral Commission is now over, but questions must now be asked of whether that body is fit for purpose." Mr Halsall, the responsible person for Vote Leave, said he was "delighted to have been exonerated" and thanked the police for their "professional" investigation. "I was very disappointed that my colleagues at Vote Leave and myself were never given the opportunity of making our case in person to the Electoral Commission before being fined and reported to the police," he added. "It seems a rather unusual way of conducting an inquiry into such matters that only the so-called whistleblowers who made these allegations are interviewed by the regulator." A spokesman for the Met said an investigation into the Electoral Commission's allegations against Vote Leave and BeLeave, submitted on July 17 2018, was handed over in October to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). "On Tuesday, March 3 preliminary advice was received from the CPS," said the force spokesman. "This advice has now been duly considered and no further action will be taken."

Police complaints commissioner raises questions about explanation for not recommending criminal charges. 

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Police have no suspects in connection with the fires.

A THAMES Valley Police officer is accused of stealing food from his work canteen only one week into his new job.

Thames Valley Police is appealing for help in locating a missing man from Oxfordshire.

Thames Valley Police is appealing for help in locating a missing man from Banbury.

POLICE have praised the jail terms handed to two men who launched a drink and drug-fuelled ‘campaign of terror’ across west Oxfordshire.

Elie Mystal

The post Covid Is About to Become the Newest Excuse for Police Brutality appeared first on The Nation.

Asked by LBC's Nick Ferrari if he would join them, Mr Jenrick said: "No, I don't think I would do. But I'm not going to pass judgement on other people and what they're choosing to do.

Blogger Ed García Conde, who runs the Instagram page Welcome2TheBronx, captured contrasting park photos on May 2 that show differences in how the NYPD is enforcing social distancing.

Quebec provincial police are investigating whether at least two cellphone tower fires north of Montreal could be linked to conspiracy theories that 5G wireless technology caused the coronavirus pandemic.

• Wife of seven-time Pro Bowler faces felony burglary charge
• ‘Stuff like this happens,’ says future Hall of Fame free safety
• NFL 2020 schedule: Chiefs kick off title defense against Texans

The lawyer for the wife of Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas said she is being subjected to an “unfounded ongoing investigation” by Texas police after she allegedly pointed a gun at her husband’s head upon finding him in bed with another woman last month.

According to a police affidavit, Nina Thomas tracked down her husband at a short-term rental home in Austin in the early morning hours of 13 April and found him and his brother, Seth, in bed with two women.

Related: NFL 2020 schedule: Chiefs kick off title defense against Texans in season opener

‘Sophisticated’ identity theft attack leads to Australian Tax Office stopping early super withdrawals until Monday

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Allegations of identity theft involving 150 Australians have forced the government to pause the early release of superannuation, after police froze $120,000 believed to have been ripped off from retirement savings.

On Friday the assistant treasurer, Michael Sukkar, announced the Australian Tax Office would pause requests for early access of superannuation until Monday “out of an abundance of caution” to consider further anti-fraud protection.

A 16-year-old Aboriginal boy was forced to remove his shorts and squat during a search, but disciplinary action has not been recommended

A New South Wales police watchdog investigation into seven strip searches including one in which a 16-year-old Aboriginal boy was physically forced to remove his shorts and squat has found that all of them were unlawful.

But the watchdog has been criticised for “not going far enough” in its findings, with Sarah Crellin, a principal solicitor at the Aboriginal Legal Service, saying she was “deeply disappointed that there have been no recommendations for disciplinary action” against individual officers.

The incident took place in December 2018

Football authorities have been asked to consider staging key matches at neutral venues to reduce the strain on the emergency services, if the sport is given the green light to resume.

Jacob Fuller, the son of NSW's top cop Mick Fuller, pleads guilty to drink driving while on a suspended license. The P-plater blew 0.031 when he was tested on the Prince's Highway last month.

An alleged cocaine drug ring spanning two states is uncovered by New South Wales and South Australian police, leading to the arrests of five people.

A social media influencer who led police on a chase with a child in the car has been jailed, but not before she posted videos and selfies on her way to court.

A senior constable who performed 19 strip searches during the Splendour in the Grass festival last year tells an inquiry the procedures were "unlawful" and that the experience had been "a massive learning experience".

A NSW police officer is accused of "sloppy work" in an inquiry after she mistakenly inflated the quantity of drugs found on a reveller at Splendour in the Grass last year by nearly eight times.

NSW Police has refused to reveal if defence lawyers are being spied on with electronic surveillance as part of criminal investigations.

A 19-year-old woman is charged with torture and causing the death of an animal after allegedly stabbing a cat 20 times and throwing it from a balcony on Sydney's northern beaches.

A solicitor who offered pro-bono legal advice at the Splendour in the Grass festival in 2018 tells a public hearing of a "military-style" operation, which saw shopkeepers and bar staff among those strip-searched by police.

Of more than 5,000 strip searches conducted by NSW police in the past financial year, less than a third found any illicit drugs, new data shows.

A NSW Police officer accused of tasering a 16-year-old boy and repeatedly bashing him with a baton will continue to serve in the force, despite being charged over the alleged on-duty assault.

NSW's Law Enforcement Conduct Commission recommends disciplinary action be taken against two police officers who engaged in misconduct by racially abusing two Afghan women at a traffic stop in Western Sydney.

NSW Police Minister David Elliott says he would want officers to strip-search his children, after new data reveals 122 underage girls had been subjected to the practice since 2016.

A father is dead and his son is fighting for life in hospital after both were stabbed at a construction site they owned in St Peters.

Whether you are dealing with a noise complaint or being asked for ID, having a grasp of your basic rights when dealing with the police can help.

NSW Police release the identity of a Russian man who they allege killed property developer Albert Metledge and critically wounded his son Antony in a daylight stabbing attack in inner Sydney.

'I want to see every community treated fairly,' NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio says

"They were looking for a problem."

Corrie's Geoff's violent past with women was brought to light at last by a suspicious police officer, as Alya raised Sally's concerns

Corrie's Yasmeen recalled her memory of the bottle attack on Geoff to the police, but was she telling the truth?

A large police cordon is in place on Mersey Bank Avenue, Winterburn Avenue and Brandwood Avenue

The officer’s injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Mark Roberts believes those who say the proposal compromises the integrity of the league need to look at the broader context.

Officers heard a noise ‘believed to be the sound of someone breaking wind from a nearby bush’.

Michaela Whitbourn joins Tory Maguire to discuss the enforcement of social distancing restrictions.

Adelaide landmarks were illuminated with blue light overnight amid more tributes for SA Police Chief Superintendent Joanne Shanahan and Tania McNeill, who were killed in a three-car crash on Saturday.