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Recently, two women going for a walk in the UK were told by the police that the hot drinks they brought with them were classed as a picnic (note that going for a picnic is illegal in the current lockdown).

Is this true?

(Was wondering about asking this on Skeptics.SE, but I would like an answer per law, so asking here.)

(For completeness: the fines have been withdrawn and the police apologised but my question still stands.)

Heddy
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user7761803
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1 Answers1

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There is, as far as I can see, no legal definition of picnic in England and Wales.

In the absence of such, the convention applied by the UK courts is to use the normal meaning of the word; usually by reference to the Oxford English Dictionary (which is behind a paywall so I've used its free online version here)...

An occasion when a packed meal is eaten outdoors, especially during an outing to the countryside.

(My emphasis)