Lewis actor Laurence Fox has attracted criticism for claiming he had lunch with a large group of friends, despite lockdown restrictions.
He won millions of fans appearing alongside Kevin Whately in the ITV Oxford-based Inspector Morse spin-off for 11 years, until the series ended in 2015.
This year he has found himself at the centre of controversy on numerous occasions, starting when he spoke about the issue of race on the BBC show Question Time.
Laurence Fox with fellow actors from Lewis
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There have been a number of other tweets and social media posts which have prompted heated debate.
The latest emerged at the weekend when Mr Fox boasted of having a “lovely” lunch with a “large group” of friends in an apparent breach of lockdown rules.
Just had a large group over to lunch and we hugged and ate and talked and put the world to rights.
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) November 29, 2020
It was lovely.
You’ll never take that away from people.
Stay out. Protect your rights.
If the @nhs can’t cope, then the @nhs isn’t fit for purpose.
Compliance is violence.
The actor, who said the group also “hugged” during the meet-up, made the claims in a string of tweets.
He tweeted: "Just had a large group over to lunch and we hugged and ate and talked and put the world to rights.
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“It was lovely. You’ll never take that away from people.
"Stay out. Protect your rights.
“If the @nhs can’t cope, then the @nhs isn’t fit for purpose. Compliance is violence.”
Twitter users were quick to loop in the Metropolitan Police’s account.
If you break lockdown rules, you could get a fixed penalty notice (FPN). Since March, almost 20,000 have been issued.
The fines start at £200, rising to £6,400. Large parties can be shut down by the police - with fines of up to £10,000.
In a further tweet, Mr Fox said: "Go out. Enjoy yourselves. Be happy."
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He also criticised the new tier system, due to be voted on tomorrow by MPs and to come into force on Wednesday, if passed in the Commons.
He wrote: "No more lockdown restrictions beyond the 2nd of December. None. We need a full inquiry into the governments handling of this pandemic ASAP.
“We must remember never give our freedom away again, under such spurious circumstances.”
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