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 £100 amounted to proof that Mr Johnson misled parliament when he told the Commons last December that “all guidance was followed completely” in No 10.
Declaring that the PM had “at all times … set out his understanding of events”, Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson said the prime minister will not comment on the outcome of police inquiries until the investigatory process is completed – potentially in several months’ time.
He suggested initially that – apart from in the case of Mr Johnson himself – the names of those fined and details of any breaches will not be made public, even if they are senior figures in the PM’s team or members of his family.
However, later, he conceded No 10 will disclose if the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, is issued with a fixed penalty notice.
Under sustained questioning, the spokesperson refused to accept that the Metropolitan Police’s 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.
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: “That is a hypothetical question.”
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign said it was now “crystal clear” that “whilst 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”.
Spokesperson Hannah Brady, whose father Shaun died from Covid aged 55, said: “Frankly, 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.”
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.
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.
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.
However, officials are required to disclose such fines to security vetting teams as they amount to a criminal offence, The Independent understands.
Broader questions over whether these Partygate fines undermine officials’ honesty and professional integrity will have to be weighed by Mr Case himself.
In some case, officials may have to disclose fixed penalty notices for security vetting, depending on the level of their clearance.
The Fair Trials campaign said that Downing Street staff were receiving different treatment from the many ordinary people who were “publicly named and shamed” after being found guilty of lockdown breaches without the opportunity to offer a defence in a questionnaire.
Calling for a blanket amnesty and refunds of fines, the group’s spokesperson Griff Ferris said: “Today’s announcement not only shows that they treated the public with contempt, but it calls into question the legitimacy of the coronavirus enforcement regime.”
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said Mr Johnson should resign now, declaring: “The buck stops with the prime minister.
“After over two months of police time, 12 parties investigated and over 100 people questioned under caution, Boris Johnson’s Downing Street has been found guilty of breaking the law,” said Ms Rayner.
“The 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’s got to go.
“It is disgraceful that while the rest of the country followed their rules, Boris Johnson’s government acted like they didn’t apply to them. This has been a slap in the face of the millions of people who made huge sacrifices.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also called for Mr Johnson to go.
“If Boris Johnson thinks he can get away with Partygate by paying expensive lawyers and throwing junior staff to the wolves, he is wrong,” said Davey.
“We all know who is responsible. The prime minister must resign, or Conservative MPs must sack him.”
Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s ousted former aide – asked whether he still believed the PM will fall this year – replied on his blog: “Yes still think he’ll go this year, cabinet will fall apart & probably MPs will boot him.
“MPs will panic when they see sheer scale of econ [omic] horrors & that No10 has no plan, can’t do anything.”
But Conservative MPs who previously demanded the PM’s 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.
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.
Before he was caught out, Mr Hancock warned of the need for stringent observance of Covid instructions, saying: “Every time you try to flex the rules, that could be fatal.” But today he said that, in the context of the Ukraine war, the fallout from Covid and the cost of living crisis: “My judgement without a shadow of a doubt is that the best person to lead the country is Boris Johnson, who is keeping us safe.”
Former chief whip Mark Harper suggested that any staff found to have broken the law would have to quit, tweeting: “Officials and special advisers are bound by the Civil Service Code… which says you must comply with the law.”
Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said that disciplinary action may result from the findings of Ms Gray’s report, but declined to say whether individuals who were fined could carry on working in No 10.
“There are specific HR processes in place for individuals. I am not going get into what those entail in detail,” he said.
The 12 events under investigation during Operation Hillman include as many as six which Mr Johnson is said to have attended.
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.
Potential punishments for people found to have attended illegal parties vary according to the law that was in place at the time.
The default fine during the alleged No 10 garden gathering in May 2020 was £100, but the government then increased penalties.
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.
By then, the default fine for breaching the law had doubled to £200 and unprecedented £10,000 fines had been introduced for people responsible for organising large gatherings involving 30 or more attendees.
Covid laws changed as different “tiers” 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.
In April 2021, when a leaving party was held in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, indoor celebrations remained illegal.
Default fines were £200 for Covid offences, but a new £800 fine had been introduced for people attending parties of more than 15 people, and organisers of large gatherings could still be fined £10,000.
Announcing the new £800 fine in January 2021, Priti Patel told a press conference they were necessary because there remained a “small minority that refuse to do the right thing”.
