12th April, 2022
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak will be fined by police for holding parties in breach of COVID-19 regulations.
This was the outcome of police investigations into allegations of lockdown parties, known as partygate, at government offices.
“The Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices,” a spokesperson for Johnson’s office said.
“We have no further details.”
It was not clear how much Johnson and Sunak were fined.
Johnson’s wife, Carrie Johnson, also said she was notified that she will receive a fine, though she has not yet received any details about it.
The news came after London’s Metropolitan Police force said earlier Tuesday that they were issuing 30 more fixed penalty notices in relation to the “partygate” scandal.
The lockdown parties, held in breach of the rules, angered many in Britain.
Dozens of politicians and officials were investigated over allegations that the government flouted its own pandemic restrictions.
In total, police said they were issuing at least 50 fines for the breaches, but did not identify who the recipients are.
Police said they sent questionnaires to more than 100 people, including the prime minister, and interviewed witnesses as part of the investigation.
Johnson has denied any wrongdoing, but he is alleged to have been at half of the dozen events in his 10 Downing St. office and other government buildings that are being investigated by the police.
Opponents, and some members of the governing Conservative Party, have said for months that Johnson should resign if he is issued a fine for breaking rules he imposed on the rest of the country during the pandemic.
“Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have broken the law and repeatedly lied to the British public,” said Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party.
“The Conservatives are totally unfit to govern. Britain deserves better.”
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, called for Parliament to be recalled for a vote of no confidence in Johnson.
The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said “there is simply no way” that Johnson or Sunak can remain in their jobs.
“Their dishonesty has caused untold hurt to the bereaved,” said the group’s spokesman Lobby Akinola.
“Not only that, but they have lost all credibility with the wider public.”
In January, civil servant Sue Gray published a report into some of the gatherings, the ones not under criminal investigation.
She said “failures of leadership and judgment” in Johnson’s government allowed events to occur that should not have happened.