There was an uncomfortable 'red wall' for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to face on Tuesday after news of the first 20 'partygate' fines came through.
The fixed penalty notices were issued by the Metropolitan Police to people who attended lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall in 2020.
The force has not named the individuals facing the penalties or revealed which events they attended but Mr Johnson was among 100 people who were sent formal legal questionnaires relating to the investigation.
Read more: 20 fines to be issued over Partygate Covid lockdown scandal, says Scotland Yard
Tuesday also marked the first anniversary of the national Covid Memorial Wall on the wall of the Albert Embankment alongside St Thomas’ hospital in London.
Opposite the the Houses of Parliament, it began when Fran Hall drew a small red heart on the wall and wrote the name of her husband, Steve Mead, who died of Covid within it.
The wall is now a 500-metre-long dedication to more than 180,000 who have died so far as a result of the disease. It continues to be added to.
A large number of the red hearts are dedicated to Covid victims who died during the period of the 'partygate' scandal whose bereaved families adhered to lockdown rules and did not attend funerals or memorial services.
Set up by the Covid-19 bereaved families for Justice group, hundreds of members were expected to turn up to mark the first anniversary, among them Susie Crozier-Flintham from Sunderland.
On May 15 2020, when Mr Johnson and others were pictured sharing wine and cheese outside of 10 Downing Street, Susie was grieving the passing of her father Howard who died of Covid in March and struggling to accept the limits the coronavirus lockdown had placed on his funeral exactly a month earlier.
After learning of the fines handed down on Tuesday, Susie said: "Boris Johnson should resign, even if he is not one of the people who has been fined. He was in charge, it was his team, if he had any integrity he would go but I don't think he has integrity."
Also on Tuesday, bereaved families and supporters handed in a petition with more than 100,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street calling for the memorial wall to be made permanent. A silent procession along the length of the wall, as well as a candlelit vigil in the evening, was planned.
Mr Johnson promised a “commission” on Covid commemoration in May last year, but nothing further has been done, and the Prime Minister has refused to commit to making the wall permanent.
Susie said: "It's quite interesting that today of all days the fines have been issued. I'm going to the first anniversary of the memorial wall in London to victims of Covid.
"There's a massive irony in the fact that the Prime Minister has said we would have a place to go to grieve and give us closure. The wall has not been officially recognised yet and instead these fines are issued which is rubbing salt in the wounds of the bereaved.
"While the great British public rose to the challenge of lockdown and followed restriction guidelines, our Prime Minister and 20 members of his team were found to have committed a criminal act. I think he should resign for the hurt he has caused. They were laughing at us."
It was only recently that Susie felt it safe enough to arrange a thanksgiving service for her father held in Sunderland Minister.
"I put it off for so as we wanted it to be safe for everyone who came. My worst fears have been realised as I've hear someone has tested positive for Covid since who attended it."
The clamour among the public and from his own backbench MPs for Mr Johnson to resign has died down of late, thanks in large part to the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia. Letters by some Tory MPs calling for Mr Johnson to quit have reportedly been withdrawn.
Susie said: "During the Second World War there was a change of leadership so that narrative doesn't work."
And she said that if Mr Johnson continues as Prime Minister it could have a knock on effect on Tory MPs for not getting rid of him.
"People are outraged and there's a lot of cynicism out there. Some people have said the taxpayer will end up paying the fines - that level of cynicism shows how bad the mood is.
"Jacob Rees Mogg's comments that partygate was a load of fluff were disgraceful and hurtful. Politicians try to change the narrative all the time but what happened to our loved ones can never change. I object to political points being made without thought to bereaved families."
Susie said the memorial wall event will be a moving one and should give Mr Johnson pause for thought if looks out at it. "I'm part of a community I didn't want to belong to but now I can't do without," she said.
