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I agree with you that probably the vast majority of people at that party weren't criminals, but there is no way the latest revelations about Cummings have had a big effect in the estates near me.
I'm regularly in the Clapton Park Estate and there have been big groups of young men (demographically most likely to not follow the guidance according to various police forces, and also of course most likely to get caught up in gangs) hanging out in a non-socially-distanced way pretty much since the start of lockdown. Weeks ago this changed to even bigger, mixed sex groups.
I don't think they give too hoots about Cummings-gate, which is ultimately a middle class diversion about something not actually that important, other than in principle (as he didn't actually put other people at risk, although he could have done).
Of course the Government has plenty to do with it. This may just be the Hackney version (and it's well-known that criminals will exploit unstable conditions), but it's essentially the same thing as what's been reported from elsewhere without apparent involvement from criminals. It's the Government's incompetence, hesitation when there should be no hesitation, going ahead when there should be no going ahead, and like the icing on the cake, the damaging Cummings affair.
Depends on what time it was. The bus lane has limited hours of operation. If it was after 4, it wasn't unlawful. Here's the sign giving the hours of operation (slightly obscured):
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5517161,-0.0286351,3a,15y,245.03h,90.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVGWIOkhbRabh_mLX0i_c9A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
What was definitely illegal parking was that on the double yellow lines of the eastbound lane.
I can guarantee you that the vast majority of people who went to the party are not criminals. They'll have been a mixture of gang members, people with very marginal gang involvement, people who are sick and tired of staying indoors, people who have taken the Cummings signal and are fully intending to play by Cummings rules from now on, and people whose mates told them about the party and who just tagged along. Sure, the initial impetus may have been given by gangs, or one gang, but it's not as simple as that.
There was a picture in the Gazette this week of a heap of empty bottles and bottle boxes around a bench on the Marshes, so this wasn't the first time people left a large amount of litter there.
The initial report to police on Tw*tter was about the Pembury (Eltham House). I wouldn't be too surprised if there had been more than one after-party. To potentially add a third, there's a report on the Gazette web-site today about the Springfield Estate:
https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/crime-court/sprinfield-estate-lockdown-party-shut-down-1-6678309
No idea which one was the biggest--perhaps the Springfield one was--, but that was clearly not the only thing going on last night.
Civil disobedience, which this was, is not far from civil disorder, and both are manifestations of bad government. The buck stops at the top.