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Boris Johnson Will Receive No More Fines Over Partygate, Number 10 Confirms

Prime Minister Boris Johnson departs 10 Downing Street (Photo: Dominic Lipinski via PA Wire/PA Images)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson departs 10 Downing Street (Photo: Dominic Lipinski via PA Wire/PA Images)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson departs 10 Downing Street (Photo: Dominic Lipinski via PA Wire/PA Images)

Boris Johnson will receive no more fines over the partygate scandal, Number 10 has confirmed.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said they had been informed by the Metropolitan Police that no further action will be taken against the prime minister.

Johnson, his wife Carrie and Rishi Sunak each received fixed penalty notices for attending a surprise birthday party for the PM in 10 Downing Street in June, 2020.

The Met confirmed this morning that they had now completed their investigation into lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.

A total of 126 fixed penalty notices for breaches of Covid-19 regulations have been handed out relating to eight parties over a 10 month period in 2020 and 2021, the Met said.

Asked if the PM had received any more FPNs, his spokesman said: “No, and the Met has confirmed they are taking no further action with regard to the prime minister.”

Carrie Johnson has also been informed that she will receive no more fines, the spokesman said.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has not received any fixed penalty notices, he added.

In a statement this morning, Helen Ball, Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Met, said: “There is no doubt that the pandemic impacted all of us in so many ways and strong feelings and opinions have been expressed on this particular issue.

“When Covid regulations were introduced, the Met was clear that whilst we would not routinely investigate breaches of regulations retrospectively, there may be occasions when it would be appropriate to do so.

“The information that we received with regard to the alleged breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall was sufficient to reach our criteria to begin such an investigation.

“Our investigation was thorough and impartial and was completed as quickly as we could, given the amount of information that needed to be reviewed and the importance of ensuring that we had strong evidence for each FPN referral.”

The announcement paves the way for Sue Gray to finally publish her full report into the scandal.

The PM’s spokesman said: “Sue Gray will complete her work and then hand it over and we will publish that as soon as possible.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.

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