A British father-of-one tried to break out of a quarantine hotel near London Heathrow Airport this morning and has gone on hunger strike after claiming he is being held there ‘under duress’, MailOnline can reveal.
Anthony Pium, 30, from Leyton, East London, was involved in an angry confrontation with security guards as he tried to force his way out of the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel ‘to get some fresh air’.
An exclusive video filmed by Mr Pium shows him being forced back into the hotel.
Security guards surrounded him and pushed him back as he asked to be allowed out for some air and repeatedly told them to jasa social media marketing distance.
It comes after new rules introduced on Monday mean people arriving in England must quarantine in a hotel for ten days at a cost of £1,750 if they have been to a country with a high Covid risk, such as Portugal or Brazil.
But Mr Pium today told MailOnline of his anguish of been detained at Heathrow last night, after he flew in from Sao Paulo, where he was working for his travel agency Sky Fly Travel.
He said: ‘I am being held under duress. I have not willingly signed any form that consents to me being held in quarantine at a hotel because of the Covid crisis.’
In other coronavirus developments today:
- Anti-lockdown Tories piled further pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lift restrictions before July;
- An Imperial College study found one in 196 people were infected with Covid in the first half of February;
- 738 deaths were reported yesterday, down from 1,001 last Wednesday, and daily cases fell below 13,000;
- MPs warned that many of the UK’s nightclubs and music venues would not survive without government help;
- The UK will be the first country to deliberately infect volunteers with coronavirus to find better vaccines.
Mr Pium, who was photographed wearing a Gucci hat worth £240 and a £325 T-shirt from French luxury fashion house Balmain, added: ‘The only reason I filled in the form was that I could be allowed back into Britain.
‘They gave me this passenger locator form and I signed it with the words ‘under duress’ on it.
They have tried to fine me £500 and told me that I have to pay £1750 for the hotel. But I haven’t said yes to any of this.
Anthony Pium, 30, from Leyton, East London, holds up his laptop to the window of his room at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near London Heathrow Airport today, displaying a message to the media outside asking for legal help
An exclusive video filmed by Mr Pium shows him being forced back into the Radisson Blu Hotel near Heathrow Airport today
Security guards at the Radisson Blu surrounded him and pushed him back as he asked to be allowed out for some air today
Mr Pium (above) has gone on hunger strike at the hotel near Heathrow Airport after being forcibly taken into quarantine
Mr Pium earlier had held up a message on his laptop to the media outside the Radisson Blu Edwardian near Heathrow today
‘I just wanted to get back into the country, quarantine at home and see my son, who is eight, and I’m really missing him.
I did give them my bank account, and have tried to take the £1,750 but it has been declined because that account only has £17 on it and that was my plan. I am so angry about all this.
‘I’ve been held prisoner for no reason at all. These rules came in three days ago and I’ve been trying to get back from Brazil where I supposed to stay for five days since December. I can’t believe I’ve been treated like this.
I’ve been held captive under duress. They’re trying to serve me processed food which I don’t eat.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-808a8950-71ee-11eb-9a44-4367f4aca88b" website guest makes dash for freedom through Heathrow hotel foyer
