On Thursday, Ms Patel told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about police questioning people sitting on park benches.
The Home Secretary said: “Police have done that, let us be very clear about this.
“Throughout this coronavirus pandemic, during the last lockdown, the police have been asking individuals why are they out and about and should they be out and about, when the message right now is stay at home.”
At the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020, the police were criticised for being overzealous in their enforcing of the rules.
