Karen Reissmann, a frontline worker throughout the pandemic, was given the fixed penalty by Greater Manchester police
One of the UK’s biggest police forces is refusing to back down after being accused of wrongly issuing a £10,000 fine to a nurse who was protesting over the government’s 1% pay rise for NHS workers, reigniting concern over new powers to inhibit protest.
Karen Reissmann, 61, who has worked as a frontline nurse throughout the pandemic, was handed the fine in March despite offering a risk assessment of her protest to Greater Manchester police (GMP) and ensuring it was Covid-safe. On 1 April, London law firm Bindmans, acting on Reissmann’s behalf, wrote to GMP saying that the way the force had interpreted the law was wrong, that the protest should have been allowed to proceed, and that it should also withdraw the fine.
