Fines for staff who attended the boozy leaving do of a top government official who helped to write covid rules have been handed out, according to reports.
Kate Josephs, a former director-general of the Cabinet Office’s Covid-19 Taskforce, is believed to have received a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) relating to an event held just before Christmas 2020.
The Telegraph reports that dozens of officials were at the occasion on December 17, 2020 at the Cabinet Office.
London had shifted to Tier 3 restrictions a day earlier due to rising coronavirus cases, with Boris Johnson cancelling Christmas at around the same time.
All indoor mixing was banned in the Capital, except for household bubbles, and hospitality venues were shut.
The Josephs bash is the third event resulting in fines for attendees from the Metropolitan Police, who are investigating 12 lockdown gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall.
So far cops have issued 20 fines as part of the first wave of penalties, which are believed to focus on the most straightforward cases.
It's believed FPNs have also been handed out to guests at a Downing Street leaving drinks on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral last year and a karaoke bash for a No10 official in June 2020.
Josephs, who is now the CEO of Sheffield City Council, apologised back in January for holding the event: "On the evening of 17 December I gathered with colleagues that were at work that day, with drinks, in our office in the Cabinet Office to mark my leaving the Civil Service.
"I am truly sorry that I did this and for the anger that people will feel as a result. Sheffield has suffered greatly during this pandemic, and I apologise unreservedly.
"The specific facts of this event will be considered in the context of the investigation. I did not attend any events at 10 Downing Street."
Yesterday it was revealed that the former ethics chief for the Government had been fined over partygate.
Helen MacNamara, who used to be the deputy cabinet secretary, was among the first group of people to receive an FPN from police as part of its investigation into alleged lockdown-breaching parties.
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