Salon owner facing £17,000 in fines for breaching November lockdown suggests she will reopen on January 30

Ellen Manning
Updated ·2 min read
Quinn Blakey Hairdressing, on Bradford Road, Oakenshaw is visited by two PCSOs as they appeared to be staying open in defiance of lockdown restrictiond, November 10 2020. See SWNS story SWLEhair. A hair salon appears to have rebelled against the current lockdown rules by staying open despite the tightened coronavirus restrictions. Quinn Blakey Hairdressing, on Bradford Road, Oakenshaw, was seemingly open for business yesterday and at one point, police community support officers arrived at the premises. Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered certain businesses - including hairdressers - to close from November 5 in the face of rising Covid-19 cases. On the same day, a post on the salon’s Facebook page said: “I earned this week’s rent today, not sure where I would be pulling that money from given the government want self employed business people to wait SIX WEEKS for a payment.
Sinead Quinn, owner of Quinn Blakey Hairdressing in Bradford, has suggested she will reopen her doors despite the current national lockdown. (SWNS)

A hair salon owner who ran up fines of £17,000 by staying open during the second national coronavirus lockdown has suggested she plans to reopen next week.

In comments on social media, Sinead Quinn, owner of Quinn Blakey Hairdressing in Bradford, West Yorkshire, suggested the salon will reopen on January 30, dubbing the day “The Great Reopening”.

Quinn flouted lockdown rules in November, quoting the Magna Carta as a defence to not comply - a move which saw her handed £17,000 of Fixed Penalty Notices and ordered to close by magistrates.

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A post shared by Quinn Blakey Hairdressing (@quinnblakeyhairdressing)

The salon shared a post with the date of January 30 and the phrase ‘#thegreatopening’ on its Instagram, and in comments replying to people asking what it meant, wrote: “We're all opening regardless of lockdown. They can't control us all when we stand up to them.”

In a separate post, she wrote the caption: “When is lockdown meant to end? Feb? In February you can bet your life savings that covid-21 will be here and so will your lockdown.

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“I’d like you to sit back and watch it all play out but we’re running out of time.

“Stand up for your freedoms. 30th January. Get up and open your businesses, go out and support those businesses. We are the power, not them.”

Watch: Makeshift nail salon owner faces £1000 fine for breaching lockdown rules

Quinn, who has shared a number of videos to the business’s Instagram page questioning lockdown, stayed open in November when non-essential businesses were ordered to close and was pictured inside with customers.

She had put a note on the front door of the salon saying “I do not consent" to the lockdown and citing the Magna Carta, often used in defence of civil liberties.

She was handed a series of fines eventually totalling £17,000 and was eventually ordered to close by magistrates “to prevent nuisance to members of the public and to safeguard public health”.

According to Kirklees Council, the fines have not been paid and it is building a case to prosecute the salon owner.

The hairdresser stayed open during the November lockdown. (SWNS)
The hairdresser stayed open during the November lockdown. (SWNS)

A council spokesperson said: “With the time given to pay the fines now passed, we have started a prosecution process and are currently putting our case together.

"This process can take some time and could potentially lead to a trial. Punishment could be an unlimited fine, decided by the court.

"In the meantime, if further breaches of lockdown rules occur, we will need to take the same appropriate action which will be the case for any business.”

Watch: What you can and can't do during England's third national lockdown