Partygate: Met issues another 30 fines as police probe continues
The Metropolitan Police has issued at least another 30 fines for breaches of Covid-19 rules in Downing Street and Whitehall as the police investigation into the partygate scandal continues.
More than 50 fixed penalty notices have now been handed out to government employees that attended parties or social gatherings while England was under strict Covid restrictions, according to the Met.
It comes after 20 fines were handed out last month.
In a statement released this morning, a Met spokesperson said: “As of Tuesday, 12 April 2022 we have made over 50 referrals for fixed penalty notices (FPN) to the ACRO Criminal Records Office for breaches of COVID-19 regulations who following the referral issue the FPNs to the individual.
“We are making every effort to progress this investigation at speed, this includes continuing to assess significant amounts of investigative material from which further referrals may be made to ACRO [Criminal Records Office].
The Met has said it will not name people who have been given fines for lockdown breaches.
Earlier this month it was revealed by The Telegraph that Helen MacNamara, the government’s former ethics chief, was one of the 20 people to have been given a penalty notice.
Downing Street has vowed to say if Boris Johnson is found by the Met to have broken the law.
The police investigation is looking at more than a dozen parties, which were held in Downing Street or across other government departments during 2020 and 2021.
It is known that Johnson attended at least two of these events himself, however he has claimed that he did not know they were not official work gatherings.
Responding to the latest tranche of fines, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “The police have now completely shredded Johnson’s claims that no laws were broken. He cannot be trusted and cannot continue as Prime Minister.”