Rita Ora at Milan fashion week in September. The singer turned 30 last week.
Photograph: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images for Fendi
Police have said they were called to investigate a potential breach of Covid regulations after reports that the singer Rita Ora hosted a birthday party with friends at a restaurant in west London.
Images showed Ora arriving at a restaurant in Notting Hill on Saturday night along with a number of other people, including the models Cara and Poppy Delevingne.
The Metropolitan police confirmed they were called to reports of a potential breach of Covid regulations in the area at 9.10pm on Saturday.
The Sun, which first reported the story, said Ora had attended the party at Casa Cruz restaurant with “more than 30 people”. The singer was celebrating her 30th birthday.
Ora, whose real name is Rita Sahatçiu, has not yet responded to the reports. Her management has been contacted for comment.
Under England’s national lockdown, which ends on Tuesday, it is against the law to meet more than one person you do not live with except in specific circumstances. Police have the power to break up gatherings and issue fines of up to £10,000 for breaches of the regulations, which is underpinned by the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Photographs published by the Sun showed two police officers appearing to look through the windows of the restaurant and trying to open a security door.
It is unclear whether any further action has been taken by the police. The Met has been contacted for comment.
Casa Cruz restaurant has been contacted for comment. Its director, Nicholas Fallows, was quoted by the Sun saying that the newspaper’s inquiry was the first he had heard of the apparently illicit gathering.
The restaurant describes itself as an “intimate, warm and elegant” venue, “tucked into the leafy streets of London’s Notting Hill”. Its “core philosophy” is to be a “home away from home for all”, according to its website.
