Boris Johnson is facing calls for his resignation, after police confirmed that fixed penalty notices are to be issued in at least 20 cases during Covid lockdown law-breaking at parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.<\/p>\n
Downing Street denied that the imposition of fines of at least \u00a3100 amounted to proof that Mr Johnson misled parliament when he told the Commons last December that \u201call guidance was followed completely\u201d in No 10.<\/p>\n
Declaring that the PM had \u201cat all times \u2026 set out his understanding of events\u201d, Mr Johnson\u2019s official spokesperson said the prime minister will not comment on the outcome of police inquiries until the investigatory process is completed \u2013 potentially in several months\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
He confirmed that \u2013 apart from in the case of Mr Johnson himself \u2013 the names of those fined and details of any breaches will not be made public, even if they are senior figures in the PM\u2019s team or members of his family.<\/p>\n
Under sustained questioning, the spokesperson refused to accept that the Metropolitan Police\u2019s decision to refer the cases to the Criminal Records Office amounted to confirmation that the law was broken, insisting that this was a matter for police to determine.<\/p>\n
He confirmed that the PM has not yet been informed whether he is to be fined or summoned for interview by officers in Operation Hillman. Asked if Mr Johnson would resign if he was found to have broken Covid laws, he replied only: \u201cThat is a hypothetical question.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign said it was now \u201ccrystal clear\u201d that\u00a0\u201cwhilst the British public rose to the challenge of making enormous sacrifices to protect their loved ones and their communities, those at 10 Downing Street failed\u201d.<\/p>\n
Spokesperson Hannah Brady, whose father Shaun died from Covid aged 55, said: \u201cFrankly, bereaved families have seen enough. The PM should have resigned months ago over this. By dragging it out longer all he is doing is pouring more salt on the wounds of those who have already suffered so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, Scotland Yard said it will not reveal the identities of those fined, or even details of how many were found guilty of breaches in relation to each of the 12 events under investigation.<\/p>\n
It is not known whether the 20 cases relate to 20 different individuals, or whether particular ministers, advisers or officials have racked up a number of offences, which could lead to significantly higher fines.<\/p>\n
Downing Street said it had not been given the names of those involved and that they would not be required to inform their managers that they had been fined. In some case, officials may have to disclose fixed penalty notices for security vetting, depending on the level of their clearance.<\/p>\n
The Fair Trials campaign said that Downing Street staff were receiving different treatment from the many ordinary people who were \u201cpublicly named and shamed\u201d after being found guilty of lockdown breaches without the opportunity to offer a defence in a questionnaire.<\/p>\n
Calling for a blanket amnesty and refunds of fines, the group\u2019s spokesperson Griff Ferris said: \u201cToday\u2019s announcement not only shows that they treated the public with contempt, but it calls into question the legitimacy of the coronavirus enforcement regime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Labour\u2019s deputy leader Angela Rayner said Mr Johnson should resign now, declaring: \u201cThe buck stops with the prime minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter over two months of police time, 12 parties investigated and over 100 people questioned under caution, Boris Johnson\u2019s Downing Street has been found guilty of breaking the law,\u201d said Ms Rayner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe culture is set from the very top. The buck stops with the prime minister, who spent months lying to the British public, which is why he\u2019s got to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is disgraceful that while the rest of the country followed their rules, Boris Johnson\u2019s government acted like they didn\u2019t apply to them. This has been a slap in the face of the millions of people who made huge sacrifices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also called for Mr Johnson to go.<\/p>\n
“If Boris Johnson thinks he can get away with Partygate by paying expensive lawyers and throwing junior staff to the wolves, he is wrong,\u201d said Davey.<\/p>\n
“We all know who is responsible. The prime minister must resign, or Conservative MPs must sack him.”<\/p>\n
Conservative MPs who previously demanded the PM\u2019s resignation if he was found to have breached Covid rules did not respond to requests from The Independent for comment, with many thought to be waiting for the full publication of a report into the affair by Whitehall civil servant Sue Gray.<\/p>\n
And Matt Hancock, who quit as health secretary after being caught in lockdown-breaching clinch with his mistress, said Mr Johnson should not resign even if he is fined.<\/p>\n
Before he was caught out, Mr Hancock warned of the need for stringent observance of Covid instructions, saying: \u201cEvery time you try to flex the rules, that could be fatal.\u201d But he today said that, in the context of the Ukraine war, the fallout from Covid and the cost-of-living crisis: \u201cMy judgement without a shadow of a doubt is that the best person to lead the country is Boris Johnson, who is keeping us safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former chief whip Mark Harper suggested that any staff found to have broken the law would have to quit, tweeting: \u201cOfficials and special advisers are bound by the Civil Service Code\u2026which says you must comply with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson\u2019s spokesperson said that disciplinary action may result from the findings of Ms Gray\u2019s report, but declined to say whether individuals who were fined could carry on working in No 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are specific HR processes in place for individuals. I am not going get into what those entail in detail,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
The 12 events under investigation by Operation Hillman include as many as six which Mr Johnson is said to have attended.<\/p>\n
Last week it emerged that detectives investigating alleged parties had begun interviewing key witnesses, after 100 questionnaires were sent out to people at the reported gatherings.<\/p>\n
Potential punishments for people found to have attended illegal parties vary according to the law that was in place at the time.<\/p>\n
The default fine during the alleged Number 10 garden gathering in May 2020 was \u00a3100, but the government then increased penalties.<\/p>\n
At the time of Downing Street events in November 2020, England was in the grip of a national lockdown that forbade gatherings of two or more people inside unless an exemption applied.<\/p>\n
By then, the default fine for breaching the law had doubled to \u00a3200 and unprecedented \u00a310,000 fines had been introduced for people responsible for organising large gatherings involving 30 or more attendees.<\/p>\n
Covid laws changed as different \u201ctiers\u201d came into force in December 2020, when a series of alleged Christmas and leaving parties took place, but the same fine scheme was in place and large social gatherings were banned.<\/p>\n
In April 2021, when a leaving party was held in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philip\u2019s funeral, indoor celebrations remained illegal.<\/p>\n
Default fines were \u00a3200 for Covid offences, but a new \u00a3800 fine had been introduced for people attending parties of more than 15 people, and organisers of large gatherings could still be fined \u00a310,000.<\/p>\n
Announcing the new \u00a3800 fine in January 2021, Priti Patel had told a press conference they were necessary because there remained a \u201csmall minority that refuse to do the right thing\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Boris Johnson is facing calls for his resignation, after police confirmed that fixed penalty notices are to be issued in at least 20 cases during Covid lockdown law-breaking at parties in Downing Street and Whitehall. Downing Street denied that the imposition of fines of at least \u00a3100 amounted to proof that Mr Johnson misled parliament […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n