Tesco, Asda and Waitrose ban shoppers without face masks

Tesco, Asda and Waitrose have become the latest supermarkets to say they will deny entry to shoppers who do not wear face masks unless they are medically exempt.

It follows a similar move by Morrisons, while Sainsbury’s says it will challenge those who flout the rules.

Retailers have been criticised for not doing enough to stop people breaking Covid rules as infections spread.

But enforcement of face coverings is officially a police responsibility.

However, supermarkets can deny entry to their premises which is private property, and can call the police if someone refuses to follow the rules or becomes abusive.

Senior police figures have reportedly said there is little officers can do to enforce the rules in shops because of how busy they are.

But policing minister Kit Malthouse said that they would offer “backup if things go seriously wrong”.

“What we hope is that in the vast majority of cases the enforcement, or the reminders if you like, put in place by the store owners will be enough,” he told BBC News.

A Tesco spokeswoman said the supermarket chain had decided to strengthen its policies.

“To protect our customers and colleagues, we won’t let anyone into our stores who is not wearing a face covering, unless they are exempt in line with government guidance,” she said.

“We are also asking our customers to shop alone, unless they’re a carer or with children. To support our colleagues, we will have additional security in stores to help manage this.”

An Asda spokesman said if customers had forgotten their face coverings, it would continue to offer them one free of charge.

“But should a customer refuse to wear a covering without a valid medical reason and be in any way challenging to our colleagues about doing so, our security colleagues will refuse their entry,” he added.

Andrew Murphy, executive director of operations at Waitrose, said: “We’ve listened carefully to the clear change in tone and emphasis of the views and information shared by the UK’s governments in recent days.

“By insisting on the wearing of face coverings, over and above the social distancing measures we already have in place, we aim to make our shops even safer for customers.”

On Tuesday, Sainsbury’s told the BBC it did not have the power to stop people coming in but that it had found from trials that customers complied more when asked to wear masks by security guards at the door.