The public has a “duty” to go off and “educate themselves” about the lockdown rules, police minister Kit Malthouse has said.
A chief officer leading the policing response to Covid-19 made has made “strong representations” to the government that tier rules should be the same wherever they were applied.
Assistant chief constable Owen Weatherill told MPs on Wednesday he was continuing to push for simplified messages that are easy for the public to understand.
But speaking to the BBC on Thursday morning, Malthouse said there was “plenty of information out there on the internet where people can go and inform themselves about what the regulations are in their area”.
“We all need to recognise we have an individual duty towards our collective health and that means informing ourselves about what the regulations are in our area and complying with the rules,” he said.
He added: “Everybody really has a duty to go and try and educate themselves about what the rules are in their area.”
But Malthouse denied he was blaming the public. “Who said it’s their fault?! ” he told HuffPost UK on Twitter. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask that people reassure themselves about the rules in their area is it?”
Malthouse also said some people were “taking the mickey” and “not complying” with the rules on purpose.
“Most people recognise the very dangerous moment for us in this pandemic and are complying, and let’s hope that continues,” he said.
Police dished out more than £40,000 in fines to Nottingham Trent University students after breaking up a house party on Tuesday night.
Four students were each given £10,000 bills for breaching Covid-19 rules after ignoring orders from police to stop the party.
It comes as Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a new support package for businesses affected by tier 2 restrictions.
The chancellor is set to unveil a new plan to help firms, particularly pubs and restaurants, who have seen their trade drop as a result of the social restrictions in the “high” category.
Currently businesses in tier 2 areas such as London and Birmingham do not benefit from the same government aid as those in Tier 3, including business grants and higher wage subsidies, because they can remain open.