Boris Johnson has stressed that unless you are a key worker or helping someone vulnerable, the only reasons to go outside are to go shopping for essentials, exercise once a day or fulfil any medical needs.
Those flouting the rules face fines of up to £960, and police can now arrest anyone found outside without good reason.
Officers will also have the powers force people to go home if they fail to listen to police direction, and will be fined £60 - reduced to £30 if paid within a fortnight. For second offences it will rise to £120 and will doubling each time for further offences. The worst culprits will be taken to court and face fines of £1,000 or more.
The use of travel checks sparked fierce criticism from civil liberties groups with police officers now seemingly being tasked with deciding how important someone's journey is amid reports of dog walkers being told to go home after driving to a public space for exercise and of builders being stopped from driving to a job.
But some believe the force is going too far. One senior Tory MP told MailOnline: 'Probably what will happen is a quiet word from the policing minister to the Chief Constable of Derbyshire saying: 'can you ease off here, we don't want to give you a haranguing, but we have got enough to worry about without you telling off people who are just taking their dog for a walk.'
The MP added the government was in a difficult position where looser advice saying people could be 'reasonable' would risk being exploited by 'idiots'.
Experts have said the enforcement will divert officers from investigating other crimes, but forces including the Met insist it can form part of their usual patrol duties...<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...