Metropolitan Police has slapped a fine on British Prime Minister Boris Jhonson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak for violating COVID-19 laws during the lockdown in what has become known as the "partygate" scandal.
The PM and the chancellor came under fire after a senior civil servant Sue Gray published findings on four gatherings by Jhonson and his staff at Downing Street while the rest of the world was under grueling lockdown in 2020 and 2021 to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Downing Street's spokesperson said, "the prime minister and chancellor of the exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices. We have no further details, but we will update you again when we do."
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The opposition and protestors have called on the PM and the finance minister to resign amid the rage for not following the rules set out by their own government.
Johnson, who is now the first-ever prime minister in the history of Great Britain to be sanctioned for breaking the law, apologized and said, "I accept in all sincerity that people have the right to expect better, and now I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people."
The Met Police have been investigating as many as 12 parties held at the Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, including a gathering on the occasion of Jhonson's 56th birthday in June last year.
Meanwhile, the British-Indian chancellor of the U.K. issued an 'unreserved apology' for attending the same birthday party.
"I deeply regret the frustration and anger that I caused, and I'm sorry. I understand the anger that many will feel that I, myself, fell short when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public," he said in a televised interview.
Photo: Courtesy of Number 10 via Flickr
