Petition · past parliament
Use the military and civilian police to prevent COVID-19 spread
Rejected
14 signatures
What the petition asks
Use the civilian police force and the military were needed to compel people to comply with Government’advice’ to deal with the pandemic of COVID-19 in the U.K.
Use the civilian police and the military wre required to compel people not complying with the government’s’advice’ to deal with Covid -19 in the U.K.
Why it was rejected
The UK Government or Parliament was already taking the action it asked for.
Since you started your petition the Government has given the police new powers and support to respond to coronavirus, including the power to instruct people to go home, leave an area or disperse, and to issue fixed penalty notices for breaking these rules: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/police-given-new-powers-and-support-to-respond-to-coronavirus
The Ministry of Defence has stated that it is ready to assist civilian authorities if required, but that maintaining public order is the responsibility of the police and there are no current plans for the military to participate in the enforcement of public order: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-support-force-the-mods-contribution-to-the-coronavirus-response
If you still want the Government to deploy the military to help maintain public order, you could start a new petition calling for this.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
The Ministry of Defence has stated that it is ready to assist civilian authorities if required, but that maintaining public order is the responsibility of the police and there are no current plans for the military to participate in the enforcement of public order: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-support-force-the-mods-contribution-to-the-coronavirus-response
If you still want the Government to deploy the military to help maintain public order, you could start a new petition calling for this.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Timeline
| 22 Mar 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 27 Apr 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
14
Status
Rejected
Rejected
27 Apr 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.