I THINK it is only right and proper that I apologise.

My considered opinion is that the best thing to do when you realise you have made a mistake is to say sorry and hope those who you have wronged can find it in their hearts to forgive you.

So here goes. I wish to offer my sincere apologies to the woman I wrote about who was fined for continuing to operate a beauty business from her home during lockdown and I hope she can forgive me.

I thought I was right at the time in drawing attention to a breach of the regulations, but subsequent events have made me reconsider my somewhat judgemental stance.

You may recall the story. Police attended an address in the town following reports that a woman was flouting the national lockdown restrictions.

Under the coronavirus regulations in operation at the time, just before Christmas last year, beauty services were included in the list of businesses which had to be closed.

Yet when policed turned up at the woman’s house, they found her ‘performing a beauty treatment’ on a client.

A police spokesman said at the time: "Officers engaged with the woman, explained the regulations and encouraged her and the client to do the right thing but they continued.

"Because of the blatant breach the officers had no choice but to issue a fixed penalty notice to the woman and her client.

"We never want to do this, but this was the only way in which we could continue to keep the public safe and reduce the spread of the virus.

"We know that you have all made sacrifices this year and that the majority of you are sticking to the rules.

"It's a shame that there is still a small minority flouting them.

"Now more than ever we need to stick to the rules and reduce the spread of coronavirus."

The business owner was fined £1,000 for opening a restricted business while the client was fined £200 for being in a gathering of two or more people from a different household in a private dwelling.

So while this poor woman was fined for trying to earn a living, down in London it was party time at 10 Downing Street. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was laughing about ‘gatherings’, there were drinks, nibbles, cheese and wine, Zoom quizzes, raucous partying at Conservative HQ… the list goes on.

And at the time of writing, the Metropolitan Police is declining to investigate because there is ‘insufficient evidence’.

Truly, this is one rule for them and a different rule for the rest of us, the unimportant little people.

As the spokesman for Cheshire Police said: "We know that you have all made sacrifices this year and that the majority of you are sticking to the rules.

"It's a shame that there is still a small minority flouting them."

I really never expected that the very people who were flouting the rules were the ones who were making them.

If I was that Warrington hairdresser, I’d be lodging an appeal and asking for my money back.

On a related topic, this column was written before MPs voted on the so-called Plan B regulations.

In an attempt to slow the spread of the Covid Omicron variant, the Government has extended the use of face coverings which are now compulsory in most indoor public venues including public transport and in places such as shops and hairdressers.

It also wants to introduce NHS Covid passes or recent negative lateral flow tests for entry into some venues including nightclubs.

There are other regulations being brought in around self-isolation, masks in schools and testing for international travel.

At the time of writing, a significant number of Tory MPs were openly criticising the plans for Covid passes and were vowing to vote against them, saying they were illiberal and an infringement of civil liberties.

So that’s they hill they chose to stand and fight on – putting political ideology ahead of the health of you, me and the rest of the country.

That really speaks volumes.