Shops and police must help enforce English face mask rules, says minister

Officers say law to make coverings compulsory in stores will be unenforceable

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Retailers and police must both play a role in enforcing the use of face coverings by shoppers in England, a cabinet minister has said after officers said the law would be unenforceable.

The environment secretary, George Eustice, also defended the government’s U-turn on making face coverings compulsory, saying its approach had been “evolving” and noting that it advised the public to wear them in crowded places in May to limit the spread of coronavirus.

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