Stephen Kinnock rapped by South Wales Police for birthday 'celebration' with father Neil

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Mr Kinnock defended the birthday visit to his father, saying he was delivering "necessary supplies" to his parents
@SKinnock
David Child31 March 2020

South Wales Police warned Labour politician Stephen Kinnock to comply with Covid-19 lockdown restrictions after he marked his 78-year-old father's birthday with a "socially distanced celebration".

The MP for Aberavon shared a picture of Saturday's event in a post on Twitter.

In the image, he can be seen sitting on a chair outside Labour Grandee Neil Kinnock's London home, while following Government guidelines to stay two metres apart amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Another picture of the family meet-up was posted by his wife, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former prime minister of Denmark.

"Dad turned 78. Incredible, but true. [We] took a couple of chairs and sat in their garden for a socially distanced celebration," Mr Kinnock tweeted.

But South Wales Police censured Kinnock for paying the visit shortly afterwards.

Replying on Sunday to the Labour MP's tweet, the force said: "Hello @SKinnock we know celebrating your Dad’s birthday is a lovely thing to do, however this is not essential travel.

"We all have our part to play in this, we urge you to comply with @GOVUK restrictions, they are in place to keep us all safe. Thank you."​

Defending his decision, Mr Kinnock replied he felt the visit was "essential travel" as he had to "deliver necessary supplies" to his parents.

"I stayed long enough to sing 'happy birthday' to Dad, and then I was off," he added.

TV personality Piers Morgan was quick to pick up on the exchange, saying Government advice was clear in calling on people to "stay home" and "obey the rules".

"There’s a section of our community who doesn’t care," Morgan said on Monday while hosting ITV's Good Morning Britain show. "Who can blame them when you have a politician, Stephen Kinnock, driving from his constituency in Wales to London to see his father.

"He says he’s taking essential supplies. Really? Were you Stephen Kinnock? Or just going to wish your dad happy birthday?"

He added: "His dad's a great man. It's my birthday today. I’m not expecting my parents to rock up in the car. It would be dangerous for them. I’m sure someone closer than Wales can get essential travel to your parents."

Several others people tweeted in support of Mr Kinnock, however, highlighting that he was observing the social distancing rules and that taking supplies to an older person counts as an exception.

Daily Mirror Associate Editor Kevin Maguire accused South Wales Police of sounding "petty" by flagging up the incident.

"Cops are doing a very tough job broadly well in this crisis but targeting Stephen Kinnock was a mistake," he said in a post on Twitter.

Political journalist and commentator Isabel Oakeshott meanwhile said that officers risked losing "public support" if they continued to "behave like this".

The row has marked the latest high-profile case of lockdown enforcement tactics being deployed by police across the country, with officers having rolled out roadblocks, released drone footage shaming people filming visiting natural beauty spots and broken up parties.

Under the ongoing UK lockdown, people are only permitted to leave their homes to buy basic necessities such as food and medicine "as infrequently as possible", take one form of exercise in public a day and access medical help or provide care to a vulnerable person.

Those designated as key workers - including NHS staff, teachers and postal, transport and utility workers - are also permitted to travel to and from work and to take their children to school using necessary modes of transport.

Police have been granted the power to impose fines on people found contravening the new rules and disperse group gatherings.

The Government has committed to reviewing the lockdown measures in three weeks, and relaxing them if possible, but deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries warned on Sunday the restrictions may need to be in place for a much longer period of time.

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Dr Harries said it could be six months before life in the UK returns to "normal", adding the UK had to be "responsible" in its actions and reduce social distancing measures "gradually".

"This is not to say we would be in complete lockdown for six months, but as a nation we have to be really, really responsible and keep doing what we’re all doing until we’re sure we can gradually start lifting various interventions which are likely to be spaced – based on the science and our data – until we gradually come back to a normal way of living," she said.

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