People who “did not realise” that they were breaking the law have been fined for Covid rule breaches, it has emerged, amid calls for an amnesty on fines in the wake of “partygate”.

       More than 100,000 people have been fined for breaching various coronavirus regulations since March 2020, including 18,000 who have received penalties for meeting outdoors during the pandemic like the Prime Minister did.

       It comes amid growing pressure on Boris Johnson for attending a gathering in the garden of Number 10 in May 2020, which he has defended by claiming that no one told him it was against the rules.

       It is one of a series of Downing Street parties which have led to those fined for breaching strict lockdowns demanding that they should have their penalties cancelled or refunded.

       Now court documents have revealed that the Prime Minister is not the only one to plead ignorance over the rules.

       'Unintentional' Covid breaches

       Nancy Rush, a London estate agent, was fined ￡250 despite telling magistrates that she “didn’t realise” that her friend was having a party when she went to her home to drop off a birthday card.

       “I didn’t realise there would be other people present. I did not enter the property,” she said in a statement detailing her mitigating circumstances as she apologies for the "unintentional" breach.

       Other court documents unearthed by the Evening Standard show that a 66-year-old man who said he was going to his allotment to collect vegetables was fined ￡100 after police concluded that he was meeting friends outdoors.

       The man from South London said that he “did not wish to break the law” and that as a pensioner he was already “struggling to pay my way”.

       Nigel Ince, a landlord, was also handed a ￡1,390 court bill after people were standing drinking in his pub The Old Red Lion in central London despite him telling officers he did not realise that was against the rules.

       Mr Ince had told police that he believed that the only requirement was that they had ordered a “substantial meal” and he was serving scotch eggs as a Government minister had said this would suffice.

       The revelations led to calls for the Government to cancel or refund fines issued for breaches of coronavirus regulations.

       118,438 fixed penalty notices

       Figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council show that up until October last year 118,438 fixed penalty notices were issued in England and Wales for breaching coronavirus restrictions.

       Vianna McKenzie-Bramble, who was fined ￡12,000 for hosting a 27th birthday party with 40 people on the day of Prince Philip’s funeral, just hours after Downing Street staff held two boozy parties, backed calls for an “amnesty”.

       “Has Boris Johnson paid a fine?” she asked. “If he makes the rules and breaks the rules then why should everyone else pay and not him. It is really not fair, it is double standards.”

       Kieron McArdle, 50, has demanded that the Government refund him the ￡100 he was fined for two friends to sit with him outside in his garden on his birthday in March of last year in the wake of “partygate”.

       Callum Harrison, 23, who was fined ￡100 for attending a 10-person birthday gathering in October 2020, said that everyone in his position should get their money back in light of the actions of those working in Number 10.