The saga of lockdown-breaking parties in and around Downing Street has reached a new stage after the Metropolitan police said 20 fixed penalty notices would be issued for breaches of Covid rules. Here is what we know so far:
What will people be fined for?
We only know the very basics: for taking part in a gathering in breach of the Covid lockdown rules in place in England at the time of the event. Police are investigating 12 separate events in 2020 and 2021, six of which Boris Johnson is said to have attended. The Met said it would not detail how many fines were issued for each event, as this could identify people involved.
Will we know the identity of those fined?
No. The police statement said those who were fined would not be named publicly, according to the professional practice guidance for fixed penalty notices (FPNs). Some forces do issue regular lists naming people given FPNs, and the offence committed, but the Met is not among them.
Will Boris Johnson be fined?
Seemingly not yet. The 20 fines are believed to be those seen as most straightforward to issue, with others possibly following later. Johnson has vehemently denied that he breached any rules, and so is unlikely to fall into this first camp. Downing Street has said it will say if Johnson receives an FPN.
How did all this begin?
It started in November last year when the Daily Mirror said Johnson made a speech at a leaving event a year earlier, when England was in the middle of a Covid lockdown, and that a Christmas party took place that December in Downing Street. No 10 insisted that rules were followed at all times, but more and more allegations followed. A week after the first allegations, a video was leaked to ITV showing Downing Street staff joking about an apparent party in December 2020.
How many events eventually came to light?
More than 15 alleged events have been reported, spanning a period from mid-May 2020 to April 2021. Among them were a cheese and wine gathering in the No 10 garden on 15 May 2020, of which the Guardian was sent a photograph; a “bring your own booze” party, also in the garden, five days later; an alleged party in Johnson’s flat in November 2020 on the day Dominic Cummings left his job; and two “boozy” leaving parties taking place in No 10 simultaneously in April 2021, the night before Prince Philip’s funeral.
What has been the response from Johnson and No 10?
Mainly denial, with the extent and wording of the denials adjusted in line with new facts. Johnson’s first response, after the initial Mirror story, was to say “all guidance was followed completely in No 10”. When the video emerged showing No 10 staff joking about a party, Johnson said he was “sickened” but that he had been “repeatedly assured that the rules were not broken”. When the Guardian’s photograph emerged of the 15 May garden gathering, Johnson said it had been a work gathering.
How politically significant for Johnson are the fines?
Significant. The political received wisdom appears to be that Johnson will not face intense pressure to resign unless he is fined, and even then possibly not, with the invasion of Ukraine having focused Conservative MPs’ minds elsewhere. But even if the 20 fines are the only ones imposed, they demonstrate mass disregard for rules in and around Downing Street while the rest of the UK was, for the most part, abiding by lockdown. Johnson had repeatedly denied any breaches, meaning he either had no idea what his staff were up to, or did not tell the truth. Neither is a particularly comfortable position to be in.
