Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, faces no further action over Downing Street ‘partygate’ scandal
Downing Street revealed on Thursday that Johnson had not disclosed any further fines over his alleged breach of door lock regulations after Metroplitan Police announced that they had concluded their investigation.
Johnson is said to be “satisfied” that the investigation is complete and he has not been fined a second time, after the punishment was handed down after his 56th birthday, PA Media reported.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Met has confirmed that it has taken no further action regarding the Prime Minister.”
“In total, detectives made 126 referrals of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to the ACRO Criminal Records Office for violating Covid-19 regulations.”
Johnson was fined by police on April 13 for attending a birthday party hosted for him at his official Downing Street residence in June 2020, when large indoor gatherings were banned. .
He announced in December that he was assured “no parties and no Covid rules are broken.” Since then, he has attended several events on his own, including a party for which he was fined.
Bereavement campaigners during the pandemic have called Thursday’s decision a “terrible insult” and called on senior civil servant Sue Gray to release the report immediately, which it is said will be critical. Johnson.
A string of tweets from the Covid-19 account Bereaved Family for Justice UK, said: “There is no reason for that report to be delayed any longer. Every day they do not act, they allow a man he panted and lied to our faces of bereaved as he claimed he did ‘everything he could’ to save our loved ones remains the highest office in the land. “
The so-called Partygate scandal has caused a great deal of embarrassment to the Conservatives as opinion polls show the public wants the Prime Minister to step down.
Opposition politicians have called for Johnson to step down, but such criticism has eased since Labor leader Keir Starmer is currently under investigation for alleged violations of his own rules.
Asked by reporters in Leeds on Thursday if he still called for Johnson to step down, Starmer said: “My view of the Prime Minister has not changed.
“Of course, after an investigation that found more than 120 cases of breaking the law in Downing Street, of course he should resign, he has to take responsibility for the culture.”
PA reported that Starmer was questioned about his own violation, but said: “There was no rule violation by me or anyone on my team, I am confident of that and therefore No comparisons are made here.”
The decision was criticized by the bereaved family
The Metropolitan Police have said they will not identify those fined for Covid offenses in Downing Street, but said that 35 men received 53 fines, while 48 women received 73 fines – some of them already fined more than once.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Helen Ball, of the Met said in the statement: “There is no doubt that the pandemic has affected us all in many ways and strong feelings and opinions have been expressed about it. this particular problem.
“When the Covid regulations were in place, the Met was clear that while we do not routinely investigate regulatory violations retroactively, there may be appropriate circumstances to do so.
“The information we received regarding the alleged violations in Downing Street and Whitehall was sufficient for us to meet the criteria to initiate such an investigation.
“Our investigation is thorough, objective and completed as quickly as possible, given the amount of information that needs to be reviewed and the importance of ensuring that we have strong evidence every time. Introducing FPN.
“This investigation is now complete.”
This story has been updated to correct the number of people fined by the police: 48 women and 35 men were fined.
