Boris Johnson being fined for breaking the coronavirus rules he set is similar to former ministers receiving speeding fines, a Cabinet minister appeared to suggest. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said other ministers, including former prime minister Tony Blair, had received fixed-penalty notices (FPN) and remained in office.
It comes as the Prime Minister prepares, according to the Daily Telegraph, to make a “full-throated apology” to MPs after paying a fine issued by police for attending a birthday bash in breach of Covid laws. Mr Johnson, along with his wife Carrie Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, were fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending a birthday party thrown in his honour in the Cabinet room in June 2020, while coronavirus restrictions were in place.
Conservative MP Mr Lewis told Sky News the Prime Minister was not the first No 10 incumbent to receive a penalty for a legal infringement. “I think we do see consistently, whether it is through parking fines or speeding fines, ministers of both parties over the years have been in that position,” said the former Conservative Party chairman.
