What was claimed
From December 2025 carrying uncovered hot drinks on main streets will be prohibited and carry a £30 fine.
Our verdict
False. There is no such policy.
You won’t be fined for carrying uncovered hot drinks down the street
Videos viewed tens of thousands of times online claim that from December there will be a ban on carrying uncovered hot drinks on “main streets”, and “every spill risk will carry a £30 fine”.
But this isn’t true. There is no such policy.
While it may seem obvious to many people that this is fake, it may not be to everyone, particularly more casual internet users. The volume of shares and likes on these videos suggest a significant number believe they are true, with one person saying “you can't carry an uncovered cup of hot drink because it's dangerous but it's okay to carry a knife or machete” while another comments “I can see his point there but to fine people is a bit rash”. We’ve written more about why we fact check claims like this on our blog.
The videos, shared on Facebook, say the new rule is in response to emergency departments “dealing with burns, slips and pavement accidents caused by open takeaway cups”.
A voice, which sounds like the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, says: “We can’t keep pretending these incidents are harmless, they’re not. They cost lives, money and NHS capacity we cannot afford to waste.”
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We found no evidence on gov.uk, the official website for the government, of any such policy or fines for open takeaway cups. We also couldn’t find any credible news reports about these claims either.
Similarly, searches of Hansard, the record of what is said in Parliament, do not show any evidence of such a policy having been announced.
A woman was recently issued a £150 fine by Richmond upon Thames council in London for pouring her leftover coffee down a street drain. However, this was reportedly under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which makes it an offence to deposit or dispose of waste in a way likely to pollute land or water, and had nothing to do with a supposed new ban on open takeaway cups. The council also cancelled her fine after determining that an appeal would likely have been successful.
The audio in these videos doesn’t consistently match Mr Starmer’s natural cadence or intonation, and appears likely to have been generated by AI (although we cannot completely rule out it being created by other means).
These videos are part of a spate of false and misleading content about supposed incoming changes to personal freedoms being shared online.
Before sharing information like this that you see on social media, first consider whether it comes from a verifiable and trustworthy source. Our toolkit can help you do this.