London Metropolitan Police on Thursdays said it has imposed 50 additional fines over the “Partygate” scandal that rocked
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government. The police also said that its
investigation into the lockdown parties had “made more than 100 referrals
for fixed penalty notices”.
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In its last update on April 12, the London Metropolitan Police said “over 50” fines had been issued. They included Prime
Minister Johnson, his wife Carrie and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.
The UK government said they were fined for
a gathering in Downing Street marking the prime minister’s birthday in June
2020.
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Since the ‘Partygate’ scandal came into the
limelight, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised for the breach of
COVID-19 regulations. He, however, refused to resign as demanded by the
opposition leaders. Johnson is the first UK leader to be found to have broken
the law while in office.
The Metorpolitan Police did not issue any further
fine on him, sources said after the department’s latest statement. However, the police
are continuing with their investigation into other alleged breaches.
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Johnson is also
facing an investigation by a parliamentary committee into his past denials to
the House of Commons of lockdown lawbreaking.
The ‘Partygate’ scandal has sparked
widespread public anger against the ruling Conservatives, who suffered a
drubbing in recent local elections.
The main opposition Labour party’s leader,
Keir Starmer who was a vocal critic of Johnson, faced a similar allegation. He
would step down if police in northeast England fine him for his own alleged
breach of coronavirus laws during a campaign meeting.
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The gathering took place in Durham in April
last year, with a video later emerging of Starmer drinking beer and eating a
takeaway meal inside an office with party colleagues.
