Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Torcuil Crichton

Boris Johnson not fined for second time over partygate lockdown gatherings

Boris Johnson has not been issued with a second fixed penalty notice for the numerous breaches of lockdown rules in Downing Street.

The Prime Minister’s name is not among the 126 fines issued by the Met Police as they concluded their investigation in the ‘partygate’ gatherings, his official spokesman said.

The official said: “The Met has confimed that they are taking no further action with regards to the Prime Minister.”

Neither is Carrie Symonds, the Prime Minister’s wife, facing any further action over an alleged party in the Downing Street flat in November 2020.

The couple and the chancellor Rishi Sunak have previously been fined for a gathering in the Downing Street cabinet room for the Prime Minister’s 56th birthday.

The chancellor and the government’s senior civil servant, Simon Coates, have had no indication so far that they have been issued with fixed penalty notices.

The police investigation into lockdown breaking parties in Downing Street and around Whitehall concluded on Thursday with 126 fines issued for events relating to the partygate scandal, Scotland Yard said.

The Met said in statement: “Of the referrals, all resulted or will do so in a FPN being issued. The breakdown of recipients is, 53 were men and 73 were women. Some people received more than one FPN.”

“We will not be releasing or confirming the identity of anyone involved in this investigation or providing further details of our findings, in line with the approach we’ve taken throughout the pandemic.”

It will be a huge relief for the Prime Minister to escapes with just one fixed penalty notice but he still faces the outcome of the Sue Gray report into the lockdown breaches and a possible vote of no confidence from backbench Tory MPs who view his rule-breaking as an electoral liability.

The report from the senior civil servant detailing the numerous parties that took place across Whitehall is now expected to be published next week.

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Deputy Leader, said the 126 fines were a staggering statistic and called for the Sue Gray report to be published in full.

She said: “Industrial scale rule breaking has taken place at the heart of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street.

“We must now urgently see the Sue Gray report published in full. It’s time for the Prime Minister to stop hiding.

“While the British people sacrificed so much, Boris Johnson’s Downing Street broke the rules at record-breaking scale. Britain deserves better.”

To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.