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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Lizzy Buchan

Downing Street could keep party fines secret after Met Police investigation

Downing Street has refused to commit to revealing if Boris Johnson or No 10 officials are handed fines for Covid rule-breaking.

Police are investigating 12 alleged gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall, which could result in fixed penalty notices for anyone flouting lockdown rules.

But No 10 declined to say whether this information would be made public.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "It will be the Met that sets out what they see fit at the conclusion of their work and I would not seek to set out what that may or may not be."

And the Met Police said it, too, would not release individual names of people who'd got fined.

Scotland Yard pointed to College of Policing guidance that states: "Identities of people dealt with by cautions, speeding fines and other fixed penalties - out-of-court disposals - should not be released or confirmed."

Asked if they would not tell the public if Mr Johnson was fined by the police, the No10 spokesman said: "All I'm simply saying is that as the Met and Sue Gray said in her update, it would be wrong to infer from the ongoing work that there has been necessarily been a breach of the regulations. I'm not seeking to preempt the important work that the police are now doing.

"So I'm not going to be drawn into speculation about what may happen if the police do decide to proceed. It's purely a hypothetical situation."

Top civil servant Sue Gray finally released an update on her partygate probe (via REUTERS)

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said: "I can't believe this needs saying. The public have a right to know if the Prime Minister is found to have committed an offence by the police.

"No 10 said they would publish the full report. They cannot be allowed to backtrack or hide the results of the police investigation."

Top civil servant Sue Gray named 16 potential rule-breaking events over the past two years in a 12-page update on her inquiry into the partygate saga.

She blasted a "failure of leadership" at No 10 and the Cabinet Office - and said some events clearly should not have been allowed to happen.

But her report had to be watered down significantly due to the police investigation.

Scotland Yard has been handed 300 photos and 500 piece of paper for their inquiries, Commander Catherine Roper revealed on Monday.

Police are looking at 12 out of the 16 events, which include several the Prime Minister is believed to have attended.

Among these are a BYOB bash in the No 10 garden on May 20 2020, which Mr Johnson has admitted to attending briefly - but claimed he thought it was a work event.

A gathering for the PM's birthday in the Cabinet room on June 19 2020 is also in their sights, as well as a leaving do for his top spin doctor Lee Cain on November 13 2020.

Boris Johnson is battling for his political future following the publication of the Sue Gray report (UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Imag)

The most dangerous claim for Mr Johnson is an alleged gathering in his No 11 flat on the same night, following the departure of Dominic Cummings from office.

No 10 and Mrs Johnson have always denied this took place, despite sources telling the Mirror that aides drank heavily and blasted out loud music.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab stopped short of explicitly saying if the findings of the police probe should be published in full.

But he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Justice must be done and seen to be done.

"But I don't think I need to lecture or indeed advise the Metropolitan Police about how to conduct an investigation."

Asked whether Mr Johnson should quit if he is issued with a fixed penalty notice for breaching coronavirus rules, Mr Raab said: "Let's wait and see ... Allow the police to conduct their investigation and see, when they have ascertained the facts, quite what they conclude."

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