Demonstrations of more than two people are to be banned during the month-long lockdown in England, after ministers removed an exemption that has allowed protests to take place in recent months.
Priti Patel is understood to have briefed chief constables over enforcement after Boris Johnson’s ditched regional rules in favour of national measures to curb transmission of coronavirus across the country.
Under the new lockdown, which comes into effect across the country on Thursday, people can exercise or visit outdoor public places with people they live with or one other person from another household.
In a statement the Home Office said the draconian rules will apply to protests too, insisting that any gathering “risks spreading the disease”.