A magistrate ‘accidentally’ breached coronavirus restrictions while having dinner in a restaurant, it has emerged.

Lindsay Dalby, of the Coventry and Warwickshire bench, has been given formal advice after she was issued with a fixed penalty notice for the breach, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said.

The JCIO is an independent statutory body that supports the lord chancellor and lord chief justice in their responsibilities for judicial discipline.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, on behalf of Lord Burnett, the lord chief justice, and with the agreement of the lord chancellor, issued the advice last month. ‘In making their decision, they took into consideration that the breach while dining in a restaurant was accidental, that she had reported the matter to her bench chair promptly and that she had apologised for her actions,’ the JCIO said.

No further details were provided about the nature of the breach of coronavirus restrictions or the amount of the fixed penalty notice.