The Partygate fiasco escalated on Thursday after a second Cabinet minister appeared to be at odds with Boris Johnson over whether 20 fines issued by the Police represented a breach of the law.
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Sky News the Metropolitan Police’s move to ask the Criminal Record Office to issue fixed penalty notices on Tuesday meant those people receiving them had “broken the regulations that were set in the Covid act”. She added: “The Police deem that was what they did and therefore they have been fined accordingly”.
While those comments echoed similar remarks by the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab 24 hours earlier, the Prime Minister is refusing to confirm whether the fines mean the law was broken. His official spokesman has repeatedly said the prime minister won’t comment further until the Met has concluded its inquiries into 12 parties which took place at Downing Street and in Whitehall between June 2020 and April 2021.
It is believed Mr Johnson may have attended at least six of the events which took place when Covid lockdown rules were in place, preventing such gatherings.
Speaking to senior MPs on the House of Commons Liaison Committee on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said: “I am going to camp on my position. I won’t give a running commentary on an ongoing investigation.”
Earlier in her interview with Sky, Ms Trevelyan appeared to support the Prime Minister’s position, saying: “I would rather let the professionals get on and complete the work they are doing.
“I want to make sure that we let the Met Police do that without interference from commentary.”
But pressed by presenter Kay Burley on whether the law had been broken, she said: “I have no doubt the police are issuing those notices on the basis of those [sic] evidence.
Asked if that meant Mr Raab ‘misspoke’ when he said the law had been broken by those receiving the fines, she replied: “No, he is the Justice Secretary and he has set out a position. If you or I get a fine we hopefully pay it and move on from there and I hope and assume that those who have been fined by the police will pay their fines and that will be the punishment they have accepted.”
