At least 30 more fines issued over Downing Street parties during lockdown

At least 30 more fines over parties that broke lockdown rules held across Downing Street and Whitehall have been issued by the Met Police.

It brings the total number of fixed penalty notices made by the Met Police to over 50 since reports emerged of the gatherings held during the pandemic.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “The investigation into allegations of breaches of Covid-19 regulations in Whitehall and Downing Street continues to progress.

“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.”

Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar insisted that people are right to be ‘upset and angry’ over the fines being handed out for the rule breaches.

“Over 50 fines for the Tories who partied while people suffered. The evidence is clear- the law has been broken and the Prime Minister tried to claim it wasn’t,” he said.

“Boris Johnson is unfit for the office of Prime Minister and every single Conservative candidate in May’s local elections now must explain why they decided to put their name next to his party’s logo.

“People are right to be upset and angry. They should take out their anger with Boris Johnson’s Tories on the May 5- at the ballot box.”

The SNP’s deputy Westminster leader Kirsten Oswald MP described the scale of rule-breaking in Downing Street as “staggering”.

“These latest partygate fines expose once again Boris Johnson’s pathetic defence that no parties were held or that the rules were followed as a lie,” she said.

“The sheer scale of rule-breaking at the heart of Downing Street is staggering. People will be looking on in horror as those that set the rules blatantly broke them – making it clear that it’s one rule for the Tories and another for everyone else.

“The public will rightly want answers and accountability, and it is vital that there is transparency in this ongoing investigation and that must involve full disclosure of precisely who, among ministers and senior civil servants, is being fined for breaking the law.”

Oswald added: “Boris Johnson should have resigned a long time ago over the rule-breaking parties, but his ego and lack of dignity has led him to desperately cling on.

“The reality is that the longer he stays in office the more lasting the damage will be.”