Originally Posted by
silverelise
Just a word of caution to be careful when quoting gov.uk as the source of law - it isn't. The actual legislation for England is here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1374/contents
One of the major sources of angst and confusion in this period has been the government issuing legislation - which is legally binding - and then guidelines - which aren't. The guidelines are no more than "ministerial wishes" - they are not statutory and have zero legal status. Nor are they intended (or allowed in law) to be a guide to interpreting the law. This has caused much confusion and gnashing of teeth unnecessarily. For example in that gov.uk page, regarding exercise, many people read "
This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area" as law, when in fact the statute contains no limit to how many times a day you can leave your house for exercise, or how far you can travel. This confusion is further compounded by media coverage of Police issuing (incorrectly) FPNs for people travelling some distance for exercise. FPNs which are later rescinded and apologies issued. We are in a dangerous place as a society when the Police are punishing citizens for complying with the law.
It could well be the case that the chap in the helicopter here was complying with the law. It would be good if those claiming to be in the know could share the facts.
That's exactly the point: unless we know the reason for the flight, we have no way of understanding the legality or otherwise of it, & neither do the press or anyone else. I've been involved in other heated debates where the guidelines & legislation have been markedly different, to the detriment of those complying with the law. The law seems to be written by the legislators & cross checked appropriately - the guidelines often appear to be written by an intern during a coffee break...