Written by SYLVIA HUI

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said Tuesday that he and Treasure Chief Rishi Sunak will be fined by police for breaching COVID-19 regulations following allegations of lockdown parties at government offices.

The news came after London’s Metropolitan Police force said earlier Tuesday that they were issuing 30 more fixed penalty notices in relation to the “partygate” scandal, which has angered many in Britain and seen dozens of politicians and officials investigated over allegations that the government flouted its own pandemic restrictions.

“The Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices,” a spokesperson for Johnson’s office said. “We have no further details.”

It was not clear how much Johnson and Sunak were fined. Johnson’s wife, Carrie Johnson, also said she was notified that she will receive a fine, though she has not yet received any details about it.

Johnson has denied any wrongdoing, but he is alleged to have been at half of the dozen events in his 10 Downing St. office and other government buildings that are being investigated by the police.

Johnson’s government has been shaken by public anger over revelations that his staff held “bring your own booze” office parties, birthday celebrations and “wine time Fridays” in 2020 and 2021 while millions in Britain were barred from meeting with friends and family because of his government’s COVID-19 restrictions. Thousands of people were fined between 60 pounds ($79) and 10,000 pounds ($13,200) by police for rule-breaking social gatherings.

Opponents, and some members of the governing Conservative Party, have said for months that Johnson should resign if he is issued a fine for breaking rules he imposed on the rest of the country during the pandemic.

“Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have broken the law and repeatedly lied to the British public,” said Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party. “The Conservatives are totally unfit to govern. Britain deserves better.”

Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, called for Parliament to be recalled for a vote of no confidence in Johnson.

The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said “there is simply no way” that Johnson or Sunak can remain in their jobs.

“Their dishonesty has caused untold hurt to the bereaved,” said the group’s spokesman Lobby Akinnola. “Not only that, but they have lost all credibility with the wider public.”

In total, police say they were issuing at least 50 fines for the breaches, but did not identify who the recipients are. Police say they have sent questionnaires to more than 100 people, including the prime minister, and interviewed witnesses as part of the investigation.

In January, civil servant Sue Gray published a report into some of the gatherings, the ones not under criminal investigation. She said “failures of leadership and judgment” in Johnson’s government allowed events to occur that should not have happened.

 

Related Stories
‹
Rishi Sunak To Become Britain’s Next Prime Minister
Written by JILL LAWLESS Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain’s next prime minister after winning the Conservative leadership race Monday — and now faces the huge task of stabilizing the party and country at a time of economic and political turbulence. Sunak will be Britain’s first leader of color, and the nation’s third […]
Liz Truss Becomes Britain’s New Prime Minister
Written by DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS Liz Truss became U.K. prime minister on Tuesday and immediately confronted the enormous task ahead of her amid increasing pressure to curb soaring prices, ease labor unrest and fix a health care system burdened by long waiting lists and staff shortages. At the top of her in-box is […]
Britain’s Boris Johnson Resigning as PM Amid Scandal
Written by DANICA KIRKA, JILL LAWLESS and SYLVIA HUI Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday amid a mass revolt by top members of his government, marking an end to three tumultuous years in power in which he brazenly bent and sometimes broke the rules of British politics. Months of defiance ended almost with […]
Report: Downing St Parties in Lockdown Were Serious Failures
Written by JILL LAWLESS Social gatherings held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff while Britain was in lockdown represent a “serious failure” to observe the standards expected of government, an investigation found Monday. Senior civil servant Sue Gray concluded that “there were failures of leadership and judgment” in the government and “some of […]
Has Rule-breaker Boris Johnson Met His Match in ‘Partygate’?
Written by JILL LAWLESS For Boris Johnson, facts have always been flexible. The British prime minister’s career is littered with doctored quotes, tall tales, exaggerations and mistruths. When called out, he has generally offered an apologetic shrug or a guilty grin, and moved on. Plenty of people were willing to forgive him. At least until […]
Chilly Weather Doesn’t Dampen U.K. Joy at Lockdown Easing
Written by JILL LAWLESS People across Britain flocked to shed shaggy locks and browse for clothes, books and other “non-essential” items as shops, gyms, hairdressers, restaurant patios and beer gardens reopened Monday after months of lockdown. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to “behave responsibly” as the country that has had Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak […]
It’s Lockdown No. 3 for England, at Least Six Weeks at Home
England is entering a third national lockdown that will last at least six weeks, as authorities struggle to stem a surge in COVID-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals around the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a tough new stay-at-home order for England that takes effect at midnight Tuesday and won’t be reviewed […]
Starmer Vows ‘Government of Service’ for National Renewal as He Takes Power After Labour Landslide
Written by BRIAN MELLEY and JILL LAWLESS British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would lead a “government of service” on a mission of national renewal in his first official remarks Friday after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide victory after more than a decade in opposition. Starmer acknowledged in his first speech outside […]
Royal Drama: King’s Fractious Family on Stage at Coronation
Written by DANICA KIRKA King Charles III lives in a palace, travels in a chauffeur-driven Bentley and is one of Britain’s richest men, but he’s similar to many of his subjects in one very basic way: His family life is complicated — very complicated. There’s a second wife, an embarrassing brother, and an angry son […]
UK’s Liz Truss Quits After Turmoil Obliterated Her Authority
Written by JILL LAWLESS British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday — bowing to the inevitable after a tumultuous, short-lived term in which her policies triggered turmoil in financial markets and a rebellion in her party that obliterated her authority. Making a hastily scheduled statement outside her 10 Downing Street office, Truss acknowledged that “I cannot deliver […]
›