A WOMAN accused of breaking lockdown rules by organising anti-lockdown protests in London is to stand trial next week.
Louise Creffield, of Reading Road in Brighton, is accused of holding or being involved with gatherings of more than 30 people “during an emergency period” while Covid restrictions were in place in 2020.
The 35-year-old is accused of holding protests in Trafalgar Square and within the City of Westminster in London “without reasonable excuse” between August and November 2020.
She will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court from May 17 until May 27 charged with breaking coronavirus regulations, including holding a gathering of more than 30 people and participating in a gathering of more than six people in a tier two area.
The charges are for protests in Trafalgar Square on August 29, September 26 and October 24, 2020. The other two charges are for a protest in the City of Westminster on November 28, 2020.
Creffield denies all eight charges.
Last month, she had two charges dropped for protests she organised in Brighton due to “insufficient evidence”. The protests, in late 2020, were for a group called Save Our Rights UK.
She was accused of not “taking all reasonable steps to limit the risk of transmission of coronavirus” under the Coronavirus Act 2020 by not complying with “a health and safety risk assessment”.
A Sussex Police spokesman confirmed charges were withdrawn "due to insufficient evidence to secure a conviction”.
Creffield has previously been found guilty on two counts of holding a gathering of more than 50 people on May 29 and June 26 last year in London.
At the time, the country was under level three lockdown restrictions, which meant no more than 30 people could meet at once.
Creffield, founder of Save Our Rights UK, was found to have held gatherings in Hyde Park and Parliament Square in May before returning for a different protest in Parliament Square in June 2021.
She was fined £10,000 for each offence and ordered to pay a surcharge of £190 and costs of £500 to the Crown Prosecution Service.
In total, she has been ordered to pay £20,690. The payments will be made in instalments of £10 to be paid every two weeks.
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