UK police to issue 20 fines over Downing Street lockdown parties

UK police to issue 20 fines over Downing Street lockdown parties

Fined individuals will not be named but Downing Street has said it will reveal if Boris Johnson is among recipients

By Karim El-Bar

LONDON (AA) – British police will issue 20 fines as part of an ongoing inquiry into parties held at Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s residence and office that violated COVID-19 lockdown rules.

The police will not name the individuals fined but Downing Street has previously said it will reveal if Johnson is among the recipients.

“We will today initially begin to refer 20 fixed penalty notices to be issued for breaches of COVID-19 regulations,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We are making every effort to progress this investigation at speed and have completed a number of assessments. However due to the significant amount of investigative material that remains to be assessed, further referrals may be made to ACRO if the evidential threshold is made.”

The police are investigating 12 events that potentially breached COVID-19 regulations, some of which were attended by Johnson.

The revelations, dubbed Partygate by the British press, caused uproar in the UK and fueled widespread calls for Johnson’s resignation.

Many parliamentarians even submitted letters of no confidence in Johnson, although some have since withdrawn them.

A key question for rebels within Johnson’s Conservative Party is whether he himself is fined in the probe.

Opposition parties, however, have a lower threshold.

“After over two months of police time, 12 parties investigated and over a 100 people questioned under caution, Boris Johnson’s Downing Street has been found guilty of breaking the law,” said Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party.

“The culture is set from the very top. The buck stops with the prime minister, who spent months lying to the British public, which is why he has got to go. It is disgraceful that while the rest of the country followed their rules, Boris Johnson’s government acted like they did not apply to them.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also called for Johnson to step down.

“If Boris Johnson thinks he can get away with Partygate by paying expensive lawyers and throwing junior staff to the wolves, he is wrong. We all know who is responsible. The prime minister must resign, or Conservative MPs must sack him,” he said.

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