Covid-1984 watch? London police face backlash for using PATROL TOWERS to enforce social distancing

London police have reportedly installed “watchtowers” on Oxford Street to monitor adherence to two-meter social distancing rules, prompting social media users to make comparisons with “concentration camps” and “dystopian” novels...

This is the latest lockdown lunacy from govt: police patrol towers on Oxford St pavement - enforcing 2m distancing. Dystopian overreach and waste of taxpayer money. No wonder citizens have no respect for authorities. pic.twitter.com/yMNrsiYABw

— Luke Johnson (@LukeJohnsonRCP) June 26, 2020

Many also pointed out that the “two-meter rule” is guidance, not an actual law, making the decision to have police monitor citizens’ behavior especially debatable. Others complained that the watchtowers were something more likely to be seen in an authoritarian state like North Korea. The towers were also branded as “dystopian” and “Orwellian,” with one user dubbing them “Covid-1984” towers. The decision to install the watchpoints comes as London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced £110mn in police cuts, which left one Twitter user wondering how authorities still had “enough money to turn London into a concentration camp.”