Beth Williams
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have both been fined by the police for breaching Covid restrictions, Number 10 has confirmed. The PM’s wife, Carrie Johnson, has also been notified that she will receive a penalty fine.
The trio have received three of the so-far 50 fixed penalty notices issued by the Metropolitan police for attending parties in Whitehall and Downing Street during lockdown when the public was told such gatherings were banned. It contradicts previous comments by both Johnson and Sunak, who said that they had never broken any rules.
Which Laws Were Broken?
It has been confirmed that Boris Johnson was fined for attending his own birthday party on 19 June 2020. ITV reported that 30 people, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, surprised the prime minister with a cake and sung “Happy Birthday” in the cabinet room, while indoor gatherings of over two people were banned by law. While Boris Johnson maintained that he was only there for ten minutes, the MET believe he was there for an hour.
“totally unfit to govern”- Sir Keir Starmer
The prime minister has already apologised for participating in a garden party at 10 Downing Street on 20 May 2020. At that point, the public were not allowed to leave their homes unless they had a reasonable excuse. Boris Johnson is alleged to have attended a further five of the gatherings that are being investigated. Rishi Sunak only received a police questionnaire surrounding the 19 June event.
Reactions Across The Political Spectrum
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer has demanded that they both resign, calling them “totally unfit to govern”. Additionally, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP have called for Parliament – which is on Easter recess – to be recalled to hold a no-confidence vote in the Prime Minister.
Both the First Minister of Wales and Scotland have also called for Boris Johnson to resign. Speaking to the BBC, Mark Drakeford said, “you cannot be a lawmaker, and a law breaker at the same time”. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took to Twitter to call out the prime minister for “repeatedly lying” to parliament about the numerous parties he attended.
Boris Johnson must resign. He broke the law and repeatedly lied to parliament about it. The basic values of integrity and decency – essential to the proper working of any parliamentary democracy – demand that he go.
And he should take his out of touch chancellor with him. https://t.co/rqfWavTvjp— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) April 12, 2022
However, other political figures have said that now is not the time for a resignation. Conservative MP Roger Gale has changed his stance on the matter. He said,” We are in the middle of an international crisis and I am not prepared to give Vladimir Putin the comfort of thinking that we are about to unseat the prime minister of the United Kingdom and destabilise the coalition against Putin.”
“The police are in the midst of investigating a total of 12 parties”
The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew R.T Davies has tweeted; “It is therefore important the Prime Minister addresses today’s events but continues his steadfast leadership in supporting Ukraine in their hour of need”.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s Responses
Boris and Carrie Johnson have both paid their fines. Boris Johnson has also “apologized in full” for his participating in the gathering. As news of the fixed penalty notice broke, Johnson was on a call with U.S President Joe Biden to discuss his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv this past weekend. Rishi Sunak is yet to comment. While Sunak remained silent for most of the afternoon, he has since apologized for his own involvement in the gathering.
The Met Police’s Investigation
The police are in the midst of investigating a total of 12 parties that happened illegally during the Coronavirus pandemic. Initially, the police refused to look into any allegations of lockdown parties as senior civil servant Sue Grey was writing a report on her own findings of potential wrongdoing. The announcement comes two days after Dame Cressida Dick stood down from her role as police commissioner. It has not been confirmed who else has received a fine. As fines are being handed out event by event, the trio could receive more in the near future.
This is only the latest scandal for Sunak to be embroiled in the past week. Last week, it was revealed that Sunak’s wife has claimed non-dom status to avoid paying tax on her foreign income.
More to come on this developing story.
Image courtesy of Number 10 via Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Beth Williams
Originally from North Wales, Beth is a third year English and Journalism student at Cardiff University. As well as a contributor, Beth is the editor-in-chief of "Gair Rhydd", her university's newspaper. When she isn't writing, you'll find her reading, cooking or on a (very slow) run.